Seeing Red
by Austin Seville
Summary: SPD alternate universe that continues off of Thunder and Lightning, my Dino Thunder alternate universe.
1. Beginnings

01 Beginnings

* * *

DISCLAIMER – I do NOT own Power Rangers, S.P.D, or any character other than Austin.

* * *

(S.P.D theme plays)

As he rode in the back of his custom, 2010 Ford Shelby Mustang GT500, Austin Oliver sighed inwardly. Despite his excitement over going to Newtech City, and the surprise repainting of his car- it was now white with black stripes- he was thoroughly annoyed. His parents, Tommy driving and Hayley riding beside him, would not stop their romantic talk. While glad that they were dating, Austin was going insane listening to all the lovey-dovey chatter coming from the front seat.

Finally, after two hours of having his nose buried as deep into his 3DS as possible, Austin and his parents arrived in Newtech City. Pulling into a visitor's spot at S.P.D's command center, Delta Base, the small family headed into the building's main lobby. A quick chat with the receptionist sent them many floors up, to the center of operations near the top of the building. As they stepped inside, they were surprised to see what appeared to be a blue, anthro dog talking to a young man.

"Cadet Tate, why do you want to be the Red Ranger?" the dog asked.

"Well, I'm top of B-Squad in every category, and as you know, sir, my father was a Red Ranger," the young man replied, "One of the best ever." The dog noticed the new arrivals.

"Sky, here's a new lesson: always remember there are Rangers that are not S.P.D," he remarked, "For example, this man here. THE best ever." Tommy turned a faint shade of red.

"I'm flattered, Commander Cruger," he replied. Sky stood at attention.

"Tommy Oliver, sir," he remarked, "It's an honor."

"Pleasure to meet you, Cadet," Tommy responded. Sky was then dismissed, allowing Cruger to turn his full attention to Tommy and his family.

"Allow me to introduce myself; Anubis Cruger, head of S.P.D Earth," he remarked.

"It's an honor, sir," Austin replied.

"Pleased to meet you," Hayley added, "I'm sorry about Sirius, your home planet." Cruger backpedaled in shock.

"Who told you about my home planet?" he questioned.

"Oh, I'm all about information; it's my business," Hayley explained, "That little tidbit is courtesy of intergalactic Google."

"Impressive. You must be Hayley Ziktor, the genius who's joining Kat as a lead scientist and taking over our lobby cafe," he deduced. The redhead nodded.

"That's me," she confirmed. Cruger turned his gaze to Austin, making the boy appropriately nervous.

"And you must be Austin," he remarked, "It's an honor to have you join the academy. Especially with your dad joining me at command." Austin gained two shades of red.

"Thank you, sir," he replied. Despite being as busy as he was, Cruger personally showed the three recruits to their new rooms, giving them access cards and their first orders. Within two hours, all three of them had moved the belongings they had brought into their rooms, and were meeting with those they'd be working with for the first time.

* * *

While his parents were doing God-knows-what, Austin put the finishing touches on his new room. He used gray bedding for now, which he'd change whenever he was assigned a Ranger color. Already clad in his new, gray and black S.P.D uniform, Austin headed to find the other cadets composing B Squad. It was an easy task, as he found the three young adults sitting idly in a lounge.

"Hey, I'm your newest member, Austin Oliver," he remarked. He received curious looks, but- surprisingly- an overall feeling of acceptance. These three must have been oddballs, too, he surmised.

"Bridge Carson, nice to meet you," the brown-haired male replied. They shook hands.

"Sydney Drew, call me Syd," the blonde female continued. Another handshake.

"Sky Tate. I believe we already met," Sky added matter-of-factly. His arms remained folded across his chest. Suddenly, Bridge realized something and spoke up.

"I'd rather not end up explaining this in the middle of a battle, so while we're free… Sky, Syd and I all have unusual genetic abilities," he remarked, "I, for example, can sense others' aura."

"I can alter my molecular structure to become anything I touch," Syd added.

"I can create force fields," Sky finished with mock enthusiasm.

"That's so cool!" Austin replied, awestruck. "I used to have super strength thanks to my Dino Gem..."

"Did you lose it?" Bridge asked. Austin shook his head.

"It's in my room with my old morpher," he explained, "I don't wear it anymore." Syd's interest was piqued now, too.

"Just how strong were you?" she questioned. Austin put a hand on one of the couches in the common room.

"This sofa probably weighs somewhere from one to two hundred pounds," he demonstrated, "I could grab it with one hand like so, and hoist it onto my shoulder like a pack of sodas." Suddenly, three pairs of bugged-out eyes were staring at him, and he felt a slight weight on his shoulder. "What?"

"You're… isn't it…?" Syd sputtered. Austin looked up to see the couch resting effortlessly on his shoulder. Shocked, he quickly put it back down.

"Well… that was unexpected," he remarked, shocked, "I think I'd better speak with my mom." Excusing himself, he headed to the base's lab area, where Hayley was getting acquainted to working with fellow genius Kat Manx. Kat was a humanoid alien with a few cat-like features, namely her ears and teeth. Austin walked in at a moment when- luckily- both scientists happened to be free.

"Uh, mom… something weird is going on," he remarked.

"Define weird," Hayley replied, confused. Kat listened in curiously.

"My Dino Gem is in my room, but I still have super strength!" Austin explained. Kat raised an eyebrow as Hayley's eyes widened in shock.

"That's not right…" Hayley responded, "Tell me, can you age yourself too?" Austin shrugged.

"I'm not sure. Let me try," he answered. Kat was shocked to see Austin suddenly gain about a decade of age in seconds. Hayley was no less shocked, having previously believed that the ability was tied to his old morpher.

"That's really troubling," she remarked. It was then that Kat stepped in.

"I'm no stranger to special abilities; maybe I can help," she remarked, "What is it that has you troubled?" Hayley turned to her new colleague.

"Until today, those powers were tied to Austin's old morpher," she remarked. Kat asked if any modifications had been made to it during its use, and Hayley explained what she'd done to allow Austin to age himself in order to drive.

"Well that makes sense, then," Kat commented once Hayley finished, "I had a similar experiment go wrong. He clearly has permanent genetic abilities as a result of your work." Hayley let the information soak in for a moment.

"So you think that because I altered Austin's morpher, his abilities became part of his genetics?" she questioned. Kat nodded.

"Exactly. That's why he can use them without any assistance," she concluded. Hayley nodded in agreement.

"Austin, you should go tell your father," she instructed, "He'll want to know about this." Nodding, Austin headed up to Ops, where Tommy would no doubt be working with his new boss. Much to his surprise, Austin arrived in the aforementioned room at the same time as the other three cadets.

"Austin, what were you doing off by yourself?" Cruger questioned.

"I had to speak with mom and Kat," he explained, "Apparently, the abilities my Dino Gem gave me were ingrained in my DNA." Tommy's eyes widened.

"So you can use both of your powers without your gem?" he asked, shocked. Austin nodded.

"Considering the situation, perhaps that was for the best. That aside, I have new orders for you, Cadets." Cruger added. B Squad immediately stood at attention, anticipating a new assignment.

* * *

"Bring in the Parkington Market thieves; it must be some kind of code…" Bridge muttered as B Squad trekked through the city. Sky rolled his eyes.

"For 'Bring in the Parkington Market thieves' obviously," he retorted, "You shouldn't expect the #2 squad to get top missions, Bridge." Austin looked up at the fellow second-generation cadet.

"Give him a break, Sky," he responded tersely, "He's not the only one eager to be a Ranger, after all." Sky's cheeks flushed as he was called out by someone he considered inferior. The group was silent until they came upon an empty truck where two humans were handing out stolen clothing to what appeared to be homeless people. One thief was an African-American male with short, black dreadlocks. The other was a caucasian female with short, dark brown hair.

Predictably by Newtech standards, the thieves did not come quietly and thus began an intense fight. The squad split up, Bridge and Syd taking on the woman while Austin and Sky took on her partner. Both criminals were outnumbered, but put up a surprisingly good fight. The woman actually defeated Bridge and Syd by using her own genetic ability and splitting into several copies of herself. Austin and Sky, however, thoroughly outclassed the man and seemed on the cusp of victory.

Unfortunately, they were surprised by a flurry of dirty tactics, including blinding them with clothes and the use of tables. Not only that, but the woman was quick to assist once she'd dealt with Bridge and Syd. The mission was a colossal failure, which was far below Austin's expectations. However, the woman's genetic ability had piqued his interest; where had she acquired such a power? This question and more lingered as the four cadets headed back to Delta base.

* * *

Deep in outer space, Emperor Gruumm- leader of the Troobian Empire- stood aboard his ship in a bout of frustration. In order to reach Earth, his next target, he'd have to get through a large wormhole. To do so, however, he required a proton accelerator. Summoning one of his trusty henchmen, a robot with a black and light blue color scheme, he made his instructions clear.

"Go to Earth and get me the proton accelerator at any cost!" Gruumm ordered. Nodding in acceptance, the robot darted off to begin its task.

* * *

With the S.P.D. Cadets off their trail, Jack Landors and Elizabeth Delgado doubled back to their truck late that night. As they loaded up the few good items they could salvage from their last operation, a green alien in a suit ran up and thrust a strange, metal object into Jack's hands.

"Help me! Take this; don't let them have it!" the man half instructed, half begged, "The future of the planet depends on it! Hide It!" Glancing worriedly back from whence he'd come, the man screamed and ran onward, jumping down to lower ground before disappearing.

"Why do the nuts of the world always seem to find you?" Elizabeth- who went by Z- questioned, laughing in amusement. Jack shrugged as they brought the object with them into the cab of their truck. Just as their backs were turned, something darted by in the same direction as the strange man. Shrugging it off, Jack and Z headed off to prepare for their next job.

* * *

"You not only failed to bring in the thieves, but were soundly defeated in battle," Cruger barked, "This is unacceptable." He turned and eyed each Cadet closely. "What is it going to take for you to start acting like a team?" The four young adults stared at their feet, humiliated.

"Cruger, your judgment is sound, " Tommy cut in, "However, I have seen many Ranger teams start out this way. Every time, they worked through their issues and saved the world in the process."

"Captain Oliver is right, and due to the Troobian Empire's approach, it may be best to get you acquainted with your powers sooner rather than later," Cruger admitted, "Follow me."

The four cadets were only mildly surprised when they were led to the S.P.D lab while Tommy watched over Ops. There, Kat was waiting with her assistant, Boom, the latter holding a tray containing four S.P.D morphers. Kat took one, and began explaining its functions.

"S.P.D morphers. They are, without a doubt, your best friend. They are also judgment scanners. They will assess the guilt or innocence of those you take into custody," she began, "Boom, guilty or innocent of eating the last piece of chocolate cake this morning." Kat activated the morpher's judgment scanner, which flashed between an 'X' and a circle as it judged its target. "The scanner reads body temperature, pulse and electrical impulses and then renders a verdict." Kat continued. The morpher then stopped flashing, displaying a red 'X'. "Guilty."

"But-!" Boom started. Kat rolled her eyes.

"And it does _not_ make mistakes," she added. Boom confessed to the 'crime' and then Kat suddenly activated another feature of the morpher. Within seconds, her assistant was confined to a small, metal card. Picking it up off the ground, Kat continued her shpiel. "This makes transportation of the detainee a non-issue." That concluded the explanation, so Cruger took over the speech.

"Despite the decision to upgrade you to active status, there is an issue," he remarked, "Regrettably, academy regulations require all personnel to complete a full written and physical final exam before they can wield a morpher." Austin's shoulders slumped.

"It doesn't involve S.P.D history, does it?" he groaned, knowing he'd flunk.

"I'll waive that part," Cruger replied, "That aside, you are to head down and take the exam immediately. The rest of you, take a morpher and head back to Ops. Oh and Sky, a word?"

"Yes, sir!" the four cadets remarked, doing as they were told. Cruger took the eldest cadet aside in the hallway.

"If Syd was the Red Ranger, would you follow her into battle?" Cruger asked. Sky seemed amused by the question.

"With all due respect, sir, she's a girl," he answered. Cruger tried again.

"What about Bridge?" he questioned.

"He's a good man, sir, but he's not really a leader," Sky answered.

"Thank you for your honesty, Cadet," Cruger responded, "Go rejoin your teammates in Ops; Captain Oliver has your next assignment."

Saluting, Sky turned and hurried towards Ops.

* * *

With the last of the food and clothes he and Z had stolen given away, Jack retrieved the strange, metal object from the back of the truck.

"Well, this is all that's left. You can't eat it or wear it, so it has no value," he remarked, shooting it into a trash can like a basketball. Z shook her head, not at all amused by his antics. Suddenly, they were interrupted by a pair of sirens, and were disheartened to see three of the cadets from earlier drive up in a jeep and on a motorcycle. Within moments they were in another face-off.

"Nice to see you two again," Sky remarked sarcastically.

"I told you we should have quit while we were ahead, Jack," Z griped.

"Don't worry, I'll take care of this and we'll be on our way," Jack retorted. He charged Sky, but his foe formed a force field that- upon impact- sent him flying backward to the ground.

"Guess what? You're not the only ones with tricks," Sky remarked, grinning. Z pulled Jack to his feet and turned to flee.

"Jack, we've gotta get out of here!" she remarked. The man shook her off.

"We gotta finish this now or these clowns will be chasing us forever," he countered. Z groaned as another fight began. This time, the cadets changed their strategy to avoid further humiliation, and managed to outwit the thieves. With the tables turned, Jack and Z attempted to flee but were cornered by the cadets. Sky pulled out his morpher and held it up for judgment.

"You are accused of stealing and distributing stolen goods," he remarked.

"Okay, can you prove it?" Jack scoffed.

"Actually, yes we can," Bridge replied, excited. Sky activated the morpher's judgment scan, which quickly came up guilty. Before the Rangers could take any further action, however, a humanoid wearing a black and silver jumpsuit and a blue helmet dropped down in front of them. The mysterious person tossed a silver ball into the air, which released- a horde of other jumpsuit-wearing humanoids? The Rangers reevaluated their conclusion; just what were they dealing with?

* * *

As Austin neared S.P.D's dedicated Testing Center, he was surprised to see a guard barring entry to the aforementioned area.

"Halt, youngling. This is a secure area, please return to your class at once," the guard barked. Austin sighed inwardly.

"I'm Austin Oliver, B Squad cadet. I'm here to take the academy final exam," he argued. The guard contacted someone inside through an earpiece, and after a moment his look of disgust faded.

"My apologies, Mr. Oliver," he remarked, unlocking the door, "I mistook you for one of the junior cadets. Head inside and take your exam."

"Thank you," Austin replied. Entering the Testing Center lobby, he was directed to a seating area to wait for the instructor carrying out his exam. As he sat down, he caught a couple of jeers from two teenage cadets manning one of the assistance desks.

"Aww, someone thinks he's a big boy and can be a Ranger," the male taunted, speaking in a babyish voice often used with toddlers.

"Such a cute little guy; I'm almost sorry he's going to flunk," the girl added. A glare from the officer working the main desk shut them up, but already the damage had been done. Heading into his exam, Austin felt both discouraged and defeated. Despite an encouraging instructor and all the training he'd done with his father, he felt he barely managed an average performance in the physical portion of the exam. The written part was largely S.P.D protocol, and he guessed most of the answers using common sense and process of elimination. He was not optimistic about his chances.

In the meantime, Austin's teammates were not faring well against the attack force composed of- according to Sky when he blasted one open- alien robots. The robotic soldiers were able to push back the Rangers, and then the blue-headed one blasted them with its arm laser. After that crushing blow, the three young adults were all but defeated. Suddenly, Jack and Z charged back into the fray, taking out several robots as they turned the tide of the battle.

Accepting the unexpected assistance, the B Squad Rangers led a renewed effort which saw all of the silver-colored footsoldiers defeated. Left alone and with its target nowhere in sight, the blue-headed robot quickly fled the scene. Bridge and Syd moved to celebrate the victory with Jack and Z, but Sky interrupted by seizing Jack's arm mid-high-five. Before he could attempt an arrest, however, Tommy drove up in another S.P.D. Jeep, his expression less than pleasant.

"Lieutenant Tate, stand down!"

* * *

Back at Delta Base, Commander Cruger met with the new prisoners in the cell the two shared. Having heard about Z's genetic ability, he opted to give the two a chance to serve most of their time and community service by being Rangers. Jack refused the offer, still not happy about being imprisoned despite assisting B Squad. Z, on the other hand, accepted the position because she'd been wanting to be part of something bigger for a while.

Once Z was outfitted in a uniform and all the formalities were taken care of, Cruger took her out to meet her new squad: the same Rangers that had arrested her. Sky, Bridge and Syd were surprised to see their boss walk up with someone they expected to be in prison.

"Rangers, Elizabeth Delgado-," Cruger was cut off by Z.

"Hey, remember me? Yeah, you can call me Z," she remarked.

"Hey," Bridge responded, waving.

"Hey," Z replied, smiling. Cruger sighed inwardly and resumed speaking.

"Rangers, Ms. Delgado has chosen to join S.P.D; I've assigned her to B Squad," he announced.

"Sir, she's a criminal," Sky protested. Cruger resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

"Duly noted," he replied. Sky wasn't satisfied.

"Sir, we've been here for years, and you put her with us?" he questioned.

"Lieutenant, you may be wise to remember that she was a worthy opponent despite your prior training and greater number," Cruger lectured, "She is your new team member, and I expect you to treat her as such." Sky quickly backed down. As he was about to leave, Cruger stopped and looked over the Rangers once more.

"Where is Lieutenant Oliver?" he questioned, referring to Austin. The Rangers shrugged before Syd finally spoke up.

"Sir, we haven't seen him since the morpher demonstration," she explained. Cruger nodded.

"Thank you, Sydney," he responded, "Z, please make sure to stop by the Testing Center and take the academy final once you've settled in. Now, you'll all have to excuse me." The Rangers saluted as Cruger headed back inside, likely to find his missing Lieutenant.

"So, what do you guys do for fun?" Z asked. Sky smirked.

"Bring in thieves."

* * *

Commander Cruger walked into Ops and immediately caught his second-in-command's eye. Tommy stopped what he was doing and approached his boss, wondering what had the Sirian so worried.

"Anubis, is everything alright?" he asked. Cruger shook his head.

"I received Austin's test scores half an hour ago, but he hasn't rejoined his squad," Cruger explained.

"Well, considering the situation, I'd advise you to check with Hayley," Tommy replied, "Austin didn't come to me, so he's probably with her."

"Thank you, Tommy; I'll go check the cafe," Cruger replied. Before leaving, he handed the former Green Ranger an S.P.D morpher. "I'll send Austin up when I find him," the Sirian added, "I feel it's only proper that you give it to him." Nodding, Tommy hurried to finish his prior task while Cruger headed downstairs.

After a quick elevator ride and a stroll through the lobby, Cruger arrived in the S.P.D Cafe. The business, which was likely to become the Newtech location for Hayley's Cyberspace, featured normal tables and a bar that sat roughly ten patrons. Sitting on one of the barstools, quietly sipping a 20-ounce, cookies and creme milkshake, was Austin. Hayley, his mother, was serving a male S.P.D Lieutenant several stools down the bar.

"Austin, are you alright? You've got everyone worried," Cruger questioned, taking a seat beside the boy. Austin remained silent for a few moments.

"...my exam didn't go too well," he finally spoke. Cruger raised an eyebrow.

"Care to give me the details?" he asked. Austin let out an inaudible sigh.

"I got mistaken for a junior cadet on the way in, two teenage cadets picked on me in the waiting room, I guessed my way through the written portion of the exam, and finally managed only an average performance in the physical part," he recalled gloomily

"I'm sorry you had to deal with all that; we don't tolerate harassment at the academy," Cruger apologized, "That being said, you must be an excellent guesser because you scored a 90." Austin's eyes widened.

"Really? What about the physical part?" he questioned eagerly. Cruger had to suppress an excited grin.

"Well, you must have high standards on your physical performance, because the instructor felt a 100 didn't do your 'average performance' justice," he answered, "After a manual override, your score was entered as a 120." Austin's jaw dropped.

"That's unbelievable.." he sputtered. Cruger smiled and gave the boy a pat on the back.

"That's also an academy record," he remarked, "You're better than you think, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise." Austin managed a smile whilst also turning a light shade of red.

"Thank you, Commander," he replied. The Sirian took note of the boy's now-empty milkshake.

"If you're feeling up to it, you should rejoin your squad," he suggested, "I should have another assignment for you soon, and they could use your help." Austin nodded, hopping down from his barstool.

"Are you going to pay for that?" Cruger questioned, indicating the empty glass.

"It's on the house," Hayley answered. Austin smirked.

"I should have known…" Cruger remarked, shaking his head. Getting to his feet, the Commander of S.P.D Earth walked with Austin towards the exit.

* * *

Just over an hour later, Austin and his fellow B Squad Power Rangers- Z having taken the exam by now- headed for the Ops Center after being called to report for an assignment. As they neared the room, they passed by A Squad as the top Rangers headed out on their own mission. By removing one of his black gloves, Bridge allowed his genetic ability to activate and automatically sensed all five of their auras. However, the readings he got were not quite what he had expected.

"Everything alright, Bridge?" Syd asked. Bridge shook his head.

"It's A Squad," he answered, "Something's off about them." Sky rolled his eyes.

"It's probably nothing," he remarked, "Let's get to Ops."

Arriving in the heart of S.P.D Earth, the B Squad Power Rangers were met by Commander Cruger, who was almost completely alone. He bore a serious expression, which told the Rangers that the ensuing conversation was no place for bickering and nonsense.

"Rangers, I have some serious questions for you," Cruger announced, "Lieutenant Oliver, since you were taking the exam during the mission in question, you are excused from this discussion. Instead, please meet with your father in his quarters."

"Understood, sir," Austin replied, saluting. As their teammate headed down the hall, the rest of B Squad listened intently to Cruger's words.

"Please recap exactly what happened during the engagement which led to Lieutenant Delgado's and her partner's arrests," the Sirian instructed. Sky stepped forward.

"Sir, we engaged them in battle, and eventually cornered them for judgment. We managed to assign a guilty verdict, but were then interrupted by a large group of robots," he remarked.

"Bridge, you're usually observant. What did they look like?" Cruger questioned.

"They were black, with silver, soccer ball heads that went 'bing bing!' Not very intelligent," Bridge recalled. Cruger nodded; his suspicions had been confirmed.

"Krybots; Troobian robotic footsoldiers," he explained. Suddenly, Syd spoke up.

"There was also a blue one, sir-," she started. The blonde was unable to get out another word as Cruger cut her off.

"A blue-head?" he exclaimed, "Those are Gruumm's elite personal guard! This is more serious than I thought!" The four Rangers were now showing signs of worry. "Z, did you and Jack have anything the Troobians would have wanted?" Cruger asked. Z shook her head.

"All we had stolen was food and clothing, which we'd given away by that time," she answered.

"You're sure there wasn't anything else?" Sky questioned. Z glared at him, but did manage to recall something.

"There was this strange metal thing some guy gave Jack," she recalled, "It was worthless, though; we threw it away." Everyone stared incredulously at her.

"Maybe it had value after all, Lieutenant," Cruger remarked, "Rangers, your orders are to investigate this 'strange metal thing'. Return to the scene and see if you can locate it."

"Yes, sir!" the four Rangers responded, saluting. They left Ops quickly, and soon were headed towards the scene in/on their vehicles.

* * *

Austin was unsure what to expect when he arrived at the entrance to his dad's room. When the door slid open, he was greeted by the sight of Tommy sitting on his bed, an S.P.D morpher in his hands. The boy walked inside and sat down next to his father, who looked down at him with a smile.

"Almost 14 years," he remarked, "That's how long it's been since a Ranger has suited up a second time." Austin nodded.

"That was when TJ and the Turbo Rangers became Space Rangers, right?" he asked. Tommy nodded.

"Rangers these days are only around for a year or so," he continued, "The fact that you're following in my footsteps and continuing to protect Earth… I am very proud of you." Austin couldn't help but blush.

"Thanks, dad," he replied. Tommy pulled his son into a hug, and was quickly hugged back. The Power Ranger legend then held out the morpher.

"Take this, and go be the best Ranger you can, even if you're still blue," he spoke. Austin nodded.

"I'll do it even if I'm green!" he promised, "After all, that's not too shabby a color either." Tommy couldn't help but smile as his son winked and stood to leave. The former Green Ranger got to his feet as well, walking his son to the elevator before making his way back to Ops.

* * *

The other B Squad Rangers arrived at the scene of their prior engagement and were led to a trash can by Z. Reaching inside, she produced a metal object that resembled a tiny atomic bomb.

"Let's take it back to base for examination," Sky remarked, grabbing the item.

"Why can't we investigate it ourselves?" Syd questioned, taking it straight out of Sky's hands. She barely got a hold of it before Bridge snatched it up.

"That'd certainly be easier," he added. Z reclaimed the strange object.

"Actually, we can. The S.P.D handbook states that Rangers on active duty can investigate any leads pertaining to their case." she recited. The others gawked at her in amazement. "What? I'm a quick study." Sky was the first to regain his composure.

"Alright then, I suppose we can investigate," he responded. Z smirked proudly.

"Great; I know just the person to ask."

* * *

The B Squad Power Rangers were appalled to find themselves led to a grimy, smelly dumpster. Z knocked on the metal container, and surprisingly- except to her- was greeted by a strange creature who apparently lived inside. The creature was a humanoid alien with a head composed entirely of spikes and covered in tan scales for skin.

"Piggy, I've got something for you to look at," she remarked, holding up the metal item.

"That's nothing but trash, let me dispose of it for you," Piggy remarked, grabbing at the object. Z pulled it away with lightning speed.

"Bridge, the sandwich," she remarked. Bridge handed her a putrid plastic bag that he was glad to be rid of. "Mmm… rotten bologna sandwich… probably been thrown away for at least a week…" The sandwich was too good for Piggy to pass up.

"Alright!" he conceded, "What you have there is just your run-of-the-mill proton accelerator. There's only one on Earth, so that must be it." Z went to hand Piggy the sandwich, but the Rangers were suddenly interrupted by another blue-head Krybot. Snatching the sandwhich Z almost immediately dropped, Piggy retreated into his dumpster. Meanwhile, the blue-head summoned another squadron of normal Krybots, beginning yet another battle for the Rangers.

Without help from Austin or even Jack, the four Rangers were quickly overwhelmed. As the state of the fight deteriorated, Bridge began one of the ramblings that preceded most of his questions.

"Damnit, Bridge, what the hell are you trying to say?" Syd asked, fed up.

"It's another one of his long, drawn-out questions," Sky quickly responded. Bridge stopped instantly.

"Wait, I ask long, drawn-out questions?" he asked. The others rolled their eyes. "Alright! I was just thinking, wouldn't now be a good time to morph?"

"Yes, it would!" Sky replied, pulling out his morpher. The others followed suit.

"S.P.D, emergency!" they cried out together. Their morphers activated, turning each of them into a Power Ranger for the very first time.

"S.P.D Pink!" Syd exclaimed, completing her morphing sequence.

"S.P.D Yellow!" Z continued.

"S.P.D Green!" Bridge added.

"S.P.D Blue!" Sky finished, "Wait, what? I'm supposed to be the Red Ranger!"

"Save it for later, number 2!" Syd, whose Ranger suit bore the number 5, barked. With order restored amongst the team, the Rangers pulled out their weapons- the Deltamax Strikers- and began turning the tide of battle. As the robotic soldiers adapted to the sword-like weapons, the Rangers surprised them again by shifting the strikers into blaster mode. Despite defeating most of the Krybots, the blue-head and his arm laser were still too much for the Rangers to handle.

"We've got company!" Syd cried suddenly, pointing. A silhouette of someone running could be seen far behind the Krybot.

"Friend or foe?" Bridge questioned. As the person grew near, more light began to reach them and their size became quite clear.

"It's Austin!" Z exclaimed. The last B Squad Ranger clutched a morpher in one hand, and skidded to a stop with the blue-head between him and the others.

"You guys need some help?" Austin asked. Sky indicated the blue-head.

"Just with him!" he answered. Austin took a deep breath and activated his morpher.

"S.P.D, emergency!" he cried. His morphing sequence began, and soon he was feeling power the likes of which he had never felt before. Once fully morphed, he struck the usual first-morph pose. "S.P.D Red!" he cried instinctively. Sky backpedaled in shock.

"You've gotta be kidding me; _he's_ the Red Ranger?" he sputtered. Austin was unfazed.

"Let's get this party started!" he taunted. The Blue-head summoned more Krybots to fend off his new opponent.

"Footsoldiers? No problem!" Austin remarked, grinning inside his helmet. The Krybots attacked, but Austin dispatched them with ease using his superior fighting skills. Suddenly, he was blasted back by the Blue-head's now-infamous arm laser. Getting back to his feet, Austin glared at the approaching Krybots.

"Alright, time to liven things up!" he remarked, pulling his dual weapons from their holsters, "Delta Blasters!" Blasting through the first few attackers, Austin used the Delta Blasters as he took out his entire batch of Krybots in an impressive and explosive display. "This rocks!" he announced to no one in particular. Meanwhile, the other Rangers came to a stop, having defeated their Krybots.

"Now he's just showing off," Syd remarked, jealous. Sky nodded in agreement.

"If his dad's anything to go by, we haven't seen anything yet," Bridge countered, watching expectantly. Finally, reaching the blue-head, Austin managed to blast it back along with a few normal Krybots that surrounded it. Left on its own, the blue-head found itself in a dire situation.

"Hey, he's not following academy regulations!" Sky observed angrily. Meanwhile, Austin combined his blasters into one.

"Delta Blaster, combo mode!" he cried, "Fully charged!" The Red Ranger didn't hesitate a moment. "Fire!" he finished, unleashing a blast that destroyed the Blue-head in a spectacular explosion.

"Where'd you get that?" Sky questioned, running up with the others.

"Came with the suit," Austin replied, grinning ear to ear inside his helmet. While the Rangers felt ready to celebrate, more evil lurked in the shadows nearby. Broodwing, one of Gruumm's underlings, summoned a giant robot to attack the city. "Please tell me we have zords!" Austin exclaimed worriedly.

"Commander Cruger, Blue Ranger requesting squad runners! Looks like we're about to battle a giant robot!" Sky spoke into his morpher's microphone.

"B Squad, I've sent A Squad. Your orders are to evacuate your position," Cruger responded. Austin exhaled sadly.

"That's a buzzkill," he groaned. While they watched A Squad defeat the robot with the Megazord, the B Squad Rangers powered down and searched for the proton accelerator. Austin noticed that their uniforms had been emblazoned with their respective Ranger colors, but shrugged it off as it was an expected byproduct of morphing. That aside, they were unable to find the device, and were forced to return to base feeling a mixture of both success and failure.

* * *

As B Squad entered the Ops Center, Austin found himself mobbed by his parents. The young Ranger didn't mind at all, though, and happily returned their hugs.

"We are so proud of you, my little Red Ranger," Hayley gushed, sounding a bit unlike herself. Austin turned as red as his uniform.

"Thanks, mom," he replied half-sarcastically. Tommy put a hand on his son's shoulder.

"The first father and son to be Red Ranger; I can hardly believe it," he remarked. Austin smiled up at his father and idol.

"I can't either," he admitted, "But it's really exciting." Tommy chuckled, giving his son a light squeeze.

"It is," he confirmed, "And I couldn't be prouder." With his chest about to burst from pride and excitement, Austin joined his fellow Rangers as they lined up.

"Rangers, I'm not sure if I should congratulate you or reprimand you," Cruger remarked, "On one hand, you lost the proton accelerator and allowed Gruumm to reach Earth." The Rangers hung their heads in shame. "However, you also defeated his Krybots and have given us a new set of defenders. Job well done, I suppose, but I expect better work in the future. Dismissed."

"Yes, sir!" the Rangers replied. While everyone else left, Sky took his boss aside in frustration.

"Sir, it seems there was some kind of mistake," he began, "I was given the Blue Ranger power; I thought we agreed-" The disgruntled Ranger was cut off.

"There was no mistake," Cruger responded sternly, "Austin is your leader, and I expect you to follow him. Understood?" Sky sighed and nodded.

"Yes, sir."

* * *

Austin Oliver peeked into the hallway from one of Delta Base's two bathrooms- one for each gender- with showers. It was just past nine o'clock, and he was the only person left inside. Remaining silent, he listened for any sound of movement, breathing or conversation. Much to his relief, it seemed most people had turned in by now, because the hallway was dead silent and devoid of occupants. The young Ranger thanked the heavens as he rushed down the hall and entered his room.

Once inside, Austin turned and locked his door with a numerical pin. Now that he was secure inside his room, the boy let out a relieved sigh and began to relax. Putting his uniform into a compact, alien-made washing machine, he stretched out atop his soft, comfortable bed. As he lay atop his new, red bedding, the young Oliver let the day's events sink in. He was now a Red Ranger, just like his father before him, and was leading an entire squad of S.P.D Power Rangers.

Austin was excited about this new chapter in his life, but still could barely believe it was happening. He looked down between his legs, his gaze falling on the unusual garment he wore. Ever since the infamous Wizard Wood incident, he'd been having increased back issues. Even prior to the injury, he had suffered from occasional back pain due to his slight Scoliosis. Now, not only was it flaring up worse than ever before, but he was having other issues as well. Namely, it seemed he was having an issue with his spinal cord that- embarrassingly- had turned him into a bedwetter.

Austin was now clad in a red, Power Rangers Zeo t-shirt two sizes too large, which was doing a half-decent job of hiding his embarrassing lower garment. The disposable padding was a special design, bearing Power Rangers logos and red tapes. Austin was now forced to wear the custom-ordered diapers when he slept, as most nights would result in wet sheets without them. Letting out a sigh, he rolled over and hid his padding beneath the sheets. Why did his best luck always come after his worst?

Opening his computer, Austin signed into his- and the only- user profile and then immediately logged into Skype. As he had hoped, the new star of the Reefside Wave, Conner McKnight, was online. Placing a video call, he waited with bated breath to see if his friend would answer. Much to the young Ranger's delight, Conner picked up after only two rings. It seemed the soccer star had just showered up after his second game as a pro.

"Glad you're still keeping in touch up there, Austin. How'd your first couple days go?" Conner asked. By some twist of fate, Austin and Conner were actually the closest friends from the old Dino Thunder team. Austin enjoyed talking to his old leader, who had grown close to him through their former rivalry. The younger Ranger smiled back at his friend.

"Things went pretty well. You'll never believe what color Ranger I am," Austin answered. Conner observed the decor in his friend's room, as well as the clothes the boy wore.

"Hmm, I'd say pink by the looks of it," he toyed. Austin couldn't help but laugh.

"You always were a kidder," he remarked, "Believe it or not, Conner; I'm red." Conner smiled like a proud father.

"That's great news, kiddo. I'm sure you'll be an amazing leader," he replied. Austin blushed lightly from the praise.

"Not as good as you," he insisted. Conner's expression suddenly became serious.

"You and I both know that you saved my butt more times than I saved yours," he reminded the boy, "You're going to be a great leader, I promise you." Austin turned an even brighter shade of red.

"Thank you, Conner," he replied, "How's soccer going?" The elder Red Ranger paused for a moment in recollection.

"Well, we just started the season, but we've already won 2 games," he finally answered, "Hey, now that I think about it, we've got one in Newtech soon! I'll have to pay you guys a visit." Austin grinned excitedly.

"Awesome! I can't wait to see you!" he responded. Conner chuckled at the boy's enthusiasm.

"Neither can I," he replied, "Now, however, I think it's time you went to bed. It's getting late." Austin frowned.

"Aww…" he moaned. Conner quickly checked himself.

"Don't worry, we can always talk again tomorrow," he added. Austin managed a smile.

"That's true," he admitted, "Well, good night, Conner."

"Good night, Austin," Conner replied, "Make me proud out there." Austin blushed yet again, but nodded anyway.

"I'll do my best," he promised. With that, the two friends ended their call; Austin shutting off his computer for the night. Just as he was about to hit the hay, the young Red Ranger was shocked to hear the words 'access granted' come from his door. The question of who could possibly have guessed his PIN was answered when none other than his mom entered the room. As the door closed behind her, Hayley took a seat at the end of her son's bed.

"Sorry about breaking in," she apologized, "How are you doing?" Austin hesitated for a moment.

"Alright, I suppose. This whole bedwetting thing is still bothering me," he admitted. Hayley gave a look of concern.

"Come here," she remarked. Austin climbed out from under the sheets and into his mother's lap. "Tell me why it's bothering you."

"Well, for starters it's embarrassing. None of the other Rangers have to deal with it," he explained, "Plus, the doctors have said that bedwetting could lead to daytime issues. That's not the worst part, though…" Hayley held her son close and rubbed his back reassuringly.

"First off, Austin, no one else knows about this, and I'll always support you. There's no need to be embarrassed," she assured him, "Secondly, you can work to avoid that. We've discussed it before." Austin shook his head.

"Yeah, but they say if the problem's bad enough-!" Hayley silenced the boy, speaking softly into his ear.

"You're case is minor, though," she reminded him, "You'll be fine." Austin sighed and let his head come to rest on his mom's shoulder.

"There's another reason… I'm embarrassed…" he murmured. Hayley continued to try and cheer him up.

"Sometimes it helps to get things out," she remarked, "Tell me what it is." Austin hesitated for an unusually long amount of time, his cheeks turning red in the process.

"W-Well, I… I kinda like the diapers…" he finally admitted, "They're comfy and I don't have to worry as much." Hayley wasn't fazed at all.

"That's fine, Austin. If anything, it should make this easier on you," Hayley replied. Austin wasn't convinced.

"Yeah, but... if anyone finds out, that'll really ruin me…" he muttered. Hayley looked him straight in the eye.

"You have had this problem for months and you own father doesn't know," Hayley replied, "No one is going to find out." Austin had to admit she was right. His fears were quelled, for now at least. He pulled his mom into a hug.

"As usual, I have to admit you're right," he remarked, "Thanks for supporting me, mom." Hayley smiled and hugged back.

"You're welcome, Austin," she responded, "I love you; always remember that." Austin smiled and nodded.

"Love you too, mom," he assured her. The young boy then climbed back under the sheets and was promptly tucked in by his mother.

"Good night, see you in the morning," Hayley whispered.

"Night, mom," Austin replied, smiling. He then closed his eyes, hearing the door open and close before he drifted off to sleep.


	2. Walls

02 Walls

* * *

DISCLAIMER – I do NOT own Power Rangers, S.P.D, or any character other than Austin.

* * *

(S.P.D theme plays)

After his strenuous first couple of days, Austin's first week at S.P.D academy went a bit more smoothly for he and the rest of B Squad. Sky still showed clear resentment at not being Red Ranger, however, which was becoming a recurring problem. In the meantime, A Squad had continued taking Zord duties, so the whole ordeal was becoming a bit of a disappointment.

* * *

Meanwhile, in space, Emperor Gruumm stood aboard his ship and thought aloud.

"If I know Cruger, he'll send his top soldiers to stop the attack, leaving Earth ripe for the picking," he surmised. After some further pondering, he finalized his plan and sent a small attack force to do the job.

That same day, the members of B-Squad arrived at Ops just in time to see A Squad rushing out. Filing in once the doorway was clear, they gathered around Commander Cruger to be briefed.

"Rangers, A Squad has been sent to deal with an attack in the nearby Helix nebula. Until they return, you five are Earth's primary defenders," he announced, "As such, you are hereby elevated to zord status, Lieutenants." Austin cheered inwardly.

"Thank you, sir," the five Rangers responded. The five Lieutenants were then dismissed.

* * *

Later in the day, B Squad spent some leisure time playing light ball, a futuristic version of dodge ball. Austin teamed with Z, the two facing Bridge and Syd. Sky, on the other hand, sat on the sidelines reading a book and eating popcorn. After a rather quick game in which Austin and his teammate easily defeated their opponents, the Red Ranger stepped over to his second in command.

"Come on, Sky, you should play with us," he remarked. The Blue Ranger shook his head.

"There's no time for games anymore. Emperor Gruumm's not playing around, and neither am I," he retorted. This did not sit well with one Pink Ranger.

"Come on, you used to love this game!" she begged. Before Sky could respond, the Rangers were interrupted by another loud siren. Dropping everything, they rushed towards Ops.

* * *

B Squad arrived in Ops to find Tommy running things while Cruger was out for unknown reasons. Kat and Hayley stood nearby at a terminal.

"What's the emergency?" Sky asked in a serious tone. Tommy brought up an image on a the main holo screen.

"A giant robot is attacking the city, likely piloted by one of Gruumm's monsters," he announced, "Use the Delta Runners to bring it down."

"I'll open the zord bay," Kat added. Within seconds, several of the room's outer panels lifted to reveal five holes, resembling the beginning of a water slide.

"Thanks Kat. Let's do it, guys!" Austin replied. The Rangers pulled out their morphers.

"S.P.D, emergency!" they cried. Morphing for only the second time- and their first as a full team- the Rangers jumped into the holes, sliding down tubes and into their respective zords.

"Delta Runners 1 through 5 are online," Hayley reported happily.

"Hayley, can you go finish up those two vehicles we were working on?" Kat asked, "I can take it from here." The redhead nodded at her fellow genius.

"Sure, I'll have them done in no time," she replied. As Hayley left the room, Tommy watched the Rangers engage their massive foe. Separately, the Delta Runners put up a good fight but were unable to finish the job.

"Kat, can those zords be combined?" Tommy asked. Kat nodded.

"I'm on it, Captain," she replied. The cat-like woman activated the comms on her terminal. "Austin, the Red Ranger has to initiate the formation of the Megazord," she remarked.

"Got it, Kat!" Austin replied, Before he could continue speaking, Sky cut in.

"You should have done that already, anyway," he barked, "You're breaking protocol.'

"Rangers don't use force until it's necessary, Sky," Austin lectured. The Blue Ranger rolled his eyes, but was interrupted by Bridge.

"Can you two fight _after the fight?_ " the Green Ranger inquired.

"Yeah, cut it out!" Syd added, annoyed. Austin immediately activated the Megazord formation.

"Gladly. Form up, guys!" he instructed. Meanwhile, Tommy was rather disappointed by the Rangers' teamwork thus far.

"Kat, does Sky usually act like this?" he questioned. The feline alien shook her head.

"No; I think he's a bit peeved about not being the Red Ranger," she answered.

"That's an understatement," Tommy responded. Kat nodded sadly as the focus returned to the battle at hand. However, thanks to the delay Sky had caused, the robot was able to escape before the Megazord was fully formed. The five Rangers let out a collective groan and headed back to base.

* * *

Upon returning, the Rangers were summoned to S.P.D labs where Kat and Hayley were waiting for them. Once everyone was inside, Hayley spoke up.

"Using S.P.D technology along with the Raptor Cycle schematics, Kat and I have created two new additions to your arsenal," she announced. Kat used a remote to open one of the Lab's storage bays, revealing two white motorcycles with red and green decals respectively. Austin and Bridge immediately went in for a closer look, while Sky lagged behind.

"Sweet; I guess you could say Christmas came early this year!" Austin remarked excitedly. Bridge raised a finger in objection.

"Actually, Austin, I'm Jewish," he apologized, "But I suppose you could say Hanukkah came early."

"Okay," Austin replied. Meanwhile, Sky was not at all amused.

"How come they get new bikes?" he questioned. Sure, he had one too, but it was a standard S.P.D model and much bulkier.

"Something wrong with your bike, Sky?" Kat asked, glaring at him. Sky shook his head and left the room, the rest of the Rangers following soon after.

* * *

Later that afternoon, the Rangers were again summoned, and this time sent to deal with a Krybot diamond heist. Making use of the new patrol cycles, Austin led his team to the site of the attack. The Krybots were guarding two cooler-sized containers of diamonds with a teleporter on top. A mob of thirty or more krybots separated the Rangers from the gems, and only a couple minutes were left on the timer. Quickly, Austin came up with a plan.

"Bridge, you and I are gonna draw these guys off! Sky, Syd, Z, force your way through and disarm that teleporter!" he ordered. The others set straight to work, Sky and the girls making a beeline for the diamonds in their vehicles. Austin and Bridge, already morphed, used their cycles' maneuvering and lasers to draw the Krybots' fire and take them out. Meanwhile, the other three Rangers made it to the gems, but had no idea how to operate or deactivate the teleporter.

Austin and Bridge were held up significantly by the sheer number of Krybots they had to deal with. However, their bikes proved to be a decisive advantage, and soon they were headed to join the other Rangers. Unfortunately, by that time the teleporter's timer had run down to just under ten seconds, and there was no time for Bridge- the team genius- to look at it. With time running out, pressure mounting and no other solutions coming to mind, Austin decided to improvise.

"Everyone get back!" he shouted. As the others backed away, the Red Ranger used his cycle's blasters to destroy the teleporter, saving the diamonds. Austin and Bridge then powered down, and Z noticed a muffled sound coming from the van meant to transport the precious gemstones. Opening the rear doors, she found two workers tied up inside who knew absolutely nothing about the attack. Z set the two men free while Austin updated Commander Cruger. Suddenly, the situation suddenly became urgent when the head of S.P.D alerted the Red Ranger to an attack by a giant robot.

"Guys, we've got another situation on our hands," Austin announced, "Sky, stay here and guard the diamonds; everyone else, get to your vehicles!"

"Why does _he_ get to stay with the diamonds?" Syd protested. Austin rolled his eyes.

"Fine, you can stay too," he added. Smiling, Syd joined Sky by the two crates of diamonds as the others headed back to base to retrieve the zords.

As it turned out, the robot from earlier had returned to wreak more havoc. Lacking two pieces of the Megazord, the three B-Squad Rangers were forced to improvise by using 'transformation delta'. This added a large blade resembling a plane wing to the left side of Austin's Delta Runner. The Red Ranger wasn't sure that this tactic would work, so he called Syd for backup. With the Pink Ranger en route, Austin managed to stand his Delta Runner up on the right side wheels and charge the giant robot.

The giant blade sliced through the robot with ease; perhaps the plan would work after all. Austin charged the robot a few more times, and finally the machine could take no more. A massive explosion left the area strewn with rubble, and forced the monster to ground level. Exiting their runners, Austin, Bridge and Z met up with Syd and- surprisingly- Sky as they engaged the monster. Austin was not at all happy to see the Blue Ranger, who should still have been protecting the diamonds.

"Sky, what are you doing here?" Austin demanded, "I ordered you to guard the diamonds!" Sky shrugged off his leader's comments.

"They'll be fine," he responded, "Besides, I'm more suited for battle." Austin wanted to slap the arrogant teen upside the head.

"That's not the point!" he shot back. Sky ignored him and produced his morpher to judge the monster for his crimes. As he went to speak, however, he found himself surprisingly cut off. "Lieutenant Tate, guilty or innocent of disobeying a direct order and compromising the mission?" Austin questioned, activating judgment mode on his own morpher.

"You can't be serious!" Sky retorted. Austin stared dead-faced at him through his helmet as the scan stopped on the infamous red 'X'.

"Guilty as charged," he confirmed, "Report to Ops for your punishment."

"Lieutenant Oliver, subdue the monster and then escort Sky to Ops afterward," Commander Cruger cut in over comms. However, as the Rangers turned their attention back to the metallic alien, they found it had escaped during the inter-team confrontation.

"The monster has escaped, sir," Austin radioed, "I'm sorry."

* * *

With their mission-gone-sour now over, B-Squad filed into Ops to be debriefed. As they had already deduced, Commander Cruger had returned just in time to see Austin and Sky's ill-timed altercation. The B-Squad Rangers lined up in front of the Sirian as he looked them over with an expression of anger and frustration. Clearly he was growing tired of their mistakes.

"Lieutenant Tate, with A Squad gone, this was the worst time for your selfishness," he growled, "Your decision to disobey Austin's orders and leave your post not only led to the monster's escape, but also allowed Gruumm to retrieve the diamonds. Unacceptable." Suddenly, the meeting was interrupted by an unusually high-pitched voice speaking with a matter-of-fact tone.

"Pardon the interruption, but you're only half right." Cruger and the Rangers turned to see what, by all appearances, was an anthropomorphic chipmunk. The young man was covered in a thin layer of creamy tan fur, which grew longer where most humans had hair. This supposed chipmunk had grey-blue eyes, and wore a black suit with a white dress shirt, black tie and black dress shoes. A pair of round, black glasses aided his vision.

"Are you the agent they were sending from MiB?" Commander Cruger questioned.

"Yes, sir; Agent S, at your service," the mysterious visitor answered. Sky couldn't remain silent any longer.

"Are you a…" he started. Agent S cut in immediately, having heard the question many times before.

"Chipmunk? No, Munkan actually," he explained, "My race is from a planet where what you call 'chipmunks' became the dominant race." This time, Bridge cut in, and actually managed to keep his speech brief for once.

"Wait, I thought aliens weren't allowed to be MiB agents," he remarked. Men in Black, the agency in question, was a once-secret organization that policed and monitored alien life on Earth, just like S.P.D.

"I was born on Earth, making me a citizen of this planet and thus eligible to be an agent," S responded, turning to Cruger, "As I was saying earlier, I vaporized that metallic alien on my way in."

"That's a relief," Cruger remarked, "Rangers, Agent S will be working with you to stop the Troobian Empire. He's here as part of a joint venture between S.P.D and MiB."

"No offense, sir, but just _one_ agent?" Sky questioned. Cruger rolled his eyes.

"A single MiB agent can be a force all on their own," he explained, "Lieutenant Tate, see me for punishment. The rest of you, dismissed."

* * *

Half an hour later, Austin entered Sky's room to talk with him. The Blue Ranger was staring at a framed picture of himself sitting next to his father. He did not seem at all pleased to see his leader.

"So, how'd it go?" Austin inquired. The Blue Ranger looked up, annoyed.

"2 weeks on night watch, Mr. Leader," he growled. Austin persisted, wanting to get through to Sky and ease the rivalry, much like he and Conner had done before.

"Look, I wanted you to guard the diamonds because I was pretty sure those Krybots were coming back," he explained, "You're our best fighter, so I knew you'd have the best chance on your own." Sky paused, dwelling over the comments for a moment.

"...that does make sense," he admitted, "I suppose I should have trusted your judgment; clearly Cruger didn't make you Red Ranger for laughs." Austin couldn't help but smile.

"That's a fact," he replied, "That being said, I know we've had some issues, but I'm willing to work with you if you're willing to work with me. What do you say?" Sky paused for only a second as Austin extended a hand.

"Well, it's not working butting heads," he responded. The two shook hands, and then Austin moved to leave. He stopped halfway, however, remembering something.

"Hey, we're gonna play some more light ball if you want to come," he remarked. Sky started to decline, but wound up looking at the light ball glove on his dresser.

"Alright, but I warn you: I don't play, I win," he responded. Austin just grinned as he led the way to the rec room and what was sure to be a very competitive game.

* * *

Later that evening, Austin Oliver sat idly in the newly redone cafe, now officially renamed. As he took a sip of his soda, he noticed none other than Agent S entering the Cyberspace. Even more surprising, the Munkan took a seat next to him at the bar. After ordering a full meal, Agent S suddenly turned his attention to the young Red Ranger.

"So, you're Austin Oliver," he remarked, "You look younger than I expected." Austin took another drink before speaking.

"Yeah… one of Mesogog's monsters shrank me down to age 8," he explained sadly, "It's been a year since then, but I don't seem to be growing much." Agent S didn't pause for even a moment to think.

"Had you stopped growing by that time?" he asked. Austin nodded hesitantly.

"Pretty much, yeah," he admitted. S nodded as his suspicions were confirmed.

"In that case, your body is likely in a post-puberty state even though you've been regressed; you'll be stuck that size forever," he deduced. Austin frowned, his head coming to rest on the bar.

"Great…" he moaned. Agent S put a hand on the boy's shoulder.

"You know, you're not alone. We're in the same boat," he admitted, "The average Munkan is two feet shorter than the average human. I'm actually tall for my species, and I still get mistaken for a child." Austin was taken aback by this information; his situation was trivial compared to that of Agent S!

"That's horrible! I'm sorry you have to deal with that..." he remarked, looking over at his mysterious acquaintance. For the first time, their gazes locked; one pair of gray-blue eyes meeting another. S had never seen anyone with quite the same eye color as himself before; a unique shade that- in the right light- could be mistaken for hazel. The two remained transfixed for some time, until Hayley walked over.

"Hey, you two okay?" she asked, snapping them out of it. The two shook their heads, turning away with reddened faces.

"Fine, mom..." Austin muttered, taking a drink to calm his nerves. Agent S returned his focus to the meal in front of him, remaining silent for several minutes.

"...sorry about that. It was kind of awkward," he apologized after a while. Austin shook his head.

"It's fine, don't worry about it," he insisted. A short pause. "You know, it sucks that MiB is all 'no identity' and stuff. It'd be nice to get to know you," the Red Ranger added. Despite attempting to restrain himself, Agent S could feel a half smile force its way onto his face. His emotions were out of control, and he had a pretty good idea why.

"Yeah," he replied bluntly. Finishing his meal, he stood to leave but quickly turned back. "Where's room 250?"

"It's next door to mine, actually; I'll take you there," Austin replied, getting to his feet. The two young men walked together to the elevator, the Red Ranger pressing the button for floor two. Upon arriving on said floor, Austin led Simon to the right and towards rooms 226 through 250. Coming to a stop in front of 249, Austin indicated the only room beyond it.

"Great; end of the hall," S muttered, "At least I'm close to a staircase…" Austin rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly as if hiding something.

"At least we don't have many people down this far," he pointed out. S had to admit that was a nice plus; fewer people, fewer questions. "Anyway, I'm going to turn in for the night. See you tomorrow, Agent S." The mysterious Munkan nodded before turning to enter his room. A light blush appeared on his face as he stopped for only a moment, uttering three words he thought he'd never say again.

"Call me Simon."


	3. Dogged

03 Dogged

* * *

DISCLAIMER – I do NOT own Power Rangers, S.P.D, or any character other than Austin.

* * *

(S.P.D theme plays)

It was a rather idle day at the S.P.D academy thus far, one that saw the B Squad Rangers hanging out in the break room. Austin and Agent S were discussing something off to the side, Sky was bouncing a light ball off the wall to practice catching it, and Z was reading. Bridge, who was eating toast, sat down behind the Yellow Ranger and began watching her in hopes of alleviating his boredom. Annoyed by the genius' antics, Z glared at him over her shoulder.

"Bridge, what are you doing besides eating toast?" she questioned.

"Watching you read," he answered, motioning towards his snack, "You want some? It's buttery." Bridge wiggled his fingers in a humorous manner as he spoke; one of his unusual habits.

"Buttery?" Z questioned, mimicking the motion. The two were interrupted by Syd storming into the room, looking for someone or something.

"Where is he?" she demanded. Z raised an eyebrow.

"Where's who?" Syd rolled her eyes at her roommate.

"Peanuts!" the Pink Ranger explained as if it were obvious. Z stifled a laugh.

"You lost your stupid stuffed animal?" Syd growled angrily.

"Peanuts is not stupid!" she insisted. Just then, the academy's aging Robotic Interactive Canine, known as R.I.C, trotted in whilst making an incorrect animal noise. The robotic dog was clutching Peanuts in its mouth, slobbering on the elephant. "R.I.C!" Syd cried, retrieving her beloved animal, "Bad dog!"

Later, after everyone had dispersed, Syd arrived at the room Sky and Bridge shared to deliver a copy of Bridge's favorite magazine that had been erroneously delivered to her. As she stepped foot inside the strange room, she noticed a red timer on Bridge's computer accompanied by an audio countdown. As the timer neared zero, Bridge walked up to the scene, oblivious.

"Look out!" Syd cried, shoving him out of the way of the door. The two cadets peered in from the hallway to see a piece of toast now resting on the floor.

"Toast? I thought your computer was gonna explode!" Syd remarked, shocked. Bridge couldn't help but laugh.

"Countdowns don't always lead to an explosion, Syd," he lectured, "I just rigged my computer to make toast. Want some? It's…" The Pink Ranger cut off his seemingly signature phrase.

"Buttery, I know. Look, I just came to give you this magazine the stupid mailman delivered to me by accident," she retorted. Bridge took the magazine and looked it over excitedly. Meanwhile, R.I.C ran up to the sound of another incorrect animal sound and rubbed up against Syd's leg, irritating her.

"Finally, my new issue of extreme upgrade! Boom and I are gonna upgrade his computer with a superprocessor… and maybe even a waffle iron," Bridge announced, mouth watering.

"That's great; now if only I could get this _thing_ to go away…" Syd groaned, looking down at R.I.C. Just then, they were called to Ops over the intercom, along with the rest of their teammates.

Arriving in the Ops Center, B Squad, now including Agent S, was met by Commander Cruger. The Sirian showed them the last transmission received from A Squad, a distress call that was cut off before the Red Ranger could finish giving coordinates. Earth's first line of defense was now considered MIA, leaving their underlings to step up and take their place. As Cruger finished up his speech, R.I.C entered the room and neared the Power Rangers.

"Now, that aside, there have been several missing person reports in the industrial district in the last 12 hours," he announced, "I want you to investigate."

"I can look around the area, see if anyone's seen anything," Syd suggested.

"And the rest of us can monitor for any alien activity," Sky added. Cruger nodded in acceptance, but was unable to speak before R.I.C nuzzled up to Syd again. This time he seemed to 'vomit' or some such function, leaving coolant on the Pink Ranger's pant leg.

"Eww! Look what he did to my uniform!" Syd cried. Cruger was not amused.

"Get out of the way, R.I.C," he ordered. The robotic dog complied, but then hiked up its leg and urinated on the commander's foot. All six members of B Squad grimaced as Cruger shook fluid off of his bare foot.

"Don't worry, it's just coolant," Bridge assured him. Sky could not resist making a comment.

"He must really like you, Commander," he remarked, laughing. Austin would've glared at and lectured his second in command were he able to stop laughing himself.

"Why do we even keep that malfunctioning beast around?" Syd questioned, "He's useless, not to mention totally annoying." Cruger stepped forward, speaking quietly so only Agent S and the Rangers could hear.

"Unfortunately, R.I.C's technology is almost completely obsolete," he announced, "It won't be long before he'll have to be deactivated." The Rangers were shocked by this revelation.

"What?" Bridge cried in disbelief, "Commander, you've gotta be kidding!"

"Whatever, he's overdue for the scrapheap anyway," Syd remarked. Z glared at her.

"That's cold, Syd," she retorted. Bridge spoke up again.

"R.I.C may not be perfect, but he's still a member of the S.P.D family," he argued.

"It's a machine, not a pet," Syd insisted, "It's broken, so let's replace it. If it's a matter of money, I'm sure my father..."

"Enough, Sydney," Austin cut in, "Come on, everyone, we've got work to do."

* * *

Although not happy about what had just transpired, Syd drove her jeep to the industrial district to investigate the disappearances. Just as she was about to exit the Jeep she and Z shared, R.I.C poked his head out of the back seat.

"R.I.C! What are you doing here?" she cried, "Bad dog!" Ordering R.I.C to stay in the Jeep until she returned, Syd went looking for leads. As she looked around, the Pink Ranger came across a small glob of strange, green slime on a manhole cover. Just as she went to collect a sample, she was interrupted by a monster that resembled a rhinoceros and a batch of its Krybots. Syd managed to fend the bots off for a short while before being overwhelmed and left prone to a direct shot from one of their blasters.

Just as it seemed she'd be vaporized, R.I.C jumped in front of her and took the blow instead. The robotic dog crumpled to the ground in a sparking, smoking heap as Syd looked on in shock and horror. Morphing, she angrily defeated the Krybots despite the monster having already escaped. Grabbing R.I.C, Syd rushed back to base.

* * *

After Kat determined that R.I.C had shut down because of all the damage, he was sent off to the scrap heap. Later, Syd came across a cadet pushing a cart of trash with the robotic canine's parts on board. Using some brilliant improvisation, she tricked him into letting her handle the cart. Remembering her talk with Bridge earlier, she brought the robotic canine to the Green Ranger's room seeking his help.

"Syd, is that R.I.C?" He spotted her before she could even say a word, "What happened?" The Pink Ranger frowned.

"He sacrificed himself to save me from a Krybot blaster attack," she explained, "I was hoping you and Boom could pull off the ultimate 'extreme upgrade' on him." Bridge smirked.

"Well, we do like a challenge," he replied, "We'll give it a shot."

* * *

An uneventful midday later, Hayley brought Commander Cruger the findings of her analysis of Syd's recovered slime. Four of the five B Squad Rangers, as well as Agent S, gathered to hear the news.

"The slime is some sort of petroleum-based energy fluid, and there are definitely traces of human DNA," she announced. Kat added on to the discovery.

"We have a theory that the 'rhino-monster' is turning people into this stuff somehow," she continued.

"Now if we only had a way of finding where it's all being kept…" Tommy remarked. Just then, Bridge and Boom walked into the room looking as if they'd just come from a laboratory.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please give a warm welcome to R.I.C 2.0!" they announced together. R.I.C bounded in immediately, now looking as good as new. He signaled his entry with, to everyone's surprise, an accurate dog bark. Bridge and Boom went over several new features, including a small refrigerator compartment.

"I'm sure he'd be great fun at a party, Bridge, but he's not S.P.D material," Cruger remarked. Bridge raised a finger in objection.

"I also upgraded his hardware and installed new tracking software. His sensor capability should be off the charts," he countered.

"And, I upgraded his weapons systems," Boom added. Syd jumped at the word 'sensors'.

"He should be able to help us find more of this, then," she suggested, holding up the slime sample. Bridge shrugged.

"Theoretically, but we haven't had the chance to test his systems yet," he remarked, "His systems may be buggy." Syd didn't care, holding the slime up to R.I.C's nose.

"Find the slime, boy!" she instructed. Rick barked and then sped off, tearing a hole in the sliding doors leading out of Ops. Cruger grimaced as the Rangers ran off after the robotic canine, which was moving at vehicle-like speed. R.I.C eventually led B Squad to a field and stopped at a spot, barking once at the ground. Syd, hopeful that R.I.C was successful, grabbed a shovel from the Jeep she and Z shared. Agent S merely looked on from the comfort of his agency-issued Ford Taurus.

"Syd, what are you doing?" Sky questioned as the Pink Ranger began digging at the indicated spot.

"Following R.I.C's lead, Sky," Syd answered. The other Rangers watched idly as she dug a deeper and deeper hole.

"I told you guys, we never tested his systems," Bridge remarked, "They must have a bug." With no evidence leading to R.I.C's success, he and the Rangers returned to base. Syd, however, stayed in the field and continued digging, hoping against hope to find slime. Then, as rain turned her hole into a muddy puddle, the ground collapsed beneath her and revealed an underground room. Inside were a few dozen storage racks full of the same green slime she'd found earlier.

"I knew it! R.I.C was right!" Syd cried. Anxious to tell the others, she climbed up out of the hole through which she'd entered. However, before she could head back to base, she was stopped by the rhino monster from earlier. Forced into battle alone, Syd was outmatched by the monster and nearly defeated. Just as she appeared to be done for, R.I.C dove in and attacked the monster. Syd was inspired, so much so that she morphed and beat back the monster.

"I got this guys!" she cried, still in control when the others arrived as backup. Austin put a hand on her shoulder.

"Why don't we let R.I.C handle this?" he remarked, "Fetch boy!" The Red Ranger threw a small, cylindrical object up into the air, and R.I.C caught it in his mouth. Then, in midair, R.I.C entered a transformation brought on by the small device, falling right into the hands of the five Rangers. Agent S, meanwhile, pulled a metallic bazooka out of his car.

"A canine cannon?" Syd remarked, "Awesome!" As the other Rangers aimed the cannon at the monster, she triggered judgment mode on her morpher. Agent S lined up the sight on his bazooka as the scanner came to a stop on the red 'x' of guilt. "Guilty! Let's finish him!"

"S.P.D Canine Cannon! Fire!" the Rangers cried, firing the weapon. Agent S fired his bazooka at precisely the same moment, the combined firepower leaving the monster clinging to life. Syd contained him as the slime down in the cave turned back into several dozen confused humans. Turning R.I.C back into his normal form, the Rangers prepared for a long slew of explanations.

* * *

Once all the victims had been set straight- Agent S' neuralyzer came in quite handy- the six members of B Squad brought R.I.C back to base. Upon arrival, they were immediately called to Ops for what they expected was the usual debriefing from Cruger. However, they arrived to find a small crowd gathered and Cruger holding a red, white and blue military-style medal. The Commander motioned B Squad into the crowd and then called R.I.C up to the front.

"For extraordinary service in the line of duty, a special commendation to our robotic interactive canine, R.I.C, a valuable member of the S.P.D team." Cruger announced, pinning the medal on R.I.C's head. The crowd applauded loudly, but after a moment Syd spoke up.

"You know, R.I.C 2.0 is great, but somehow… I kinda miss the old R.I.C," she remarked. Bridge and Boom glanced at each other.

"You know, we didn't change all of his programming," Bridge responded, "There's still some old R.I.C in there." Commander Cruger then cut into the conversation unexpectedly.

"I can verify that to be true, Lieutenants," he remarked, shaking coolant off his foot. Everyone, even Tommy himself, was overrun with laughter.


	4. A-Bridged

04 A-Bridged

* * *

DISCLAIMER – I do NOT own Power Rangers, S.P.D, or any character other than Austin.

* * *

(S.P.D theme plays)

Early one morning, Austin had just changed out of his padding from the previous night when the base fire alarm went off. A muffled cry came from next door, and then the alarm shut off moments later. An announcement was made that the alarm was false, easing the Red Ranger's worries while creating some confusion. The cry from Simon's room was now his primary concern, so he quickly ran over to check on the MiB agent.

"Everything alright in here?" he asked, entering the room. He found Simon, AKA Agent S, getting to his feet after apparently falling out of bed. The young Munkan was clad in only a white undershirt and a pair of white, black-seamed briefs. Having rushed over in a panic, Austin himself wore only his red, S.P.D undershirt and a pair of white, red-seamed dinosaur briefs.

"Yeah. Fire alarm scared the bejeezus out of me," Simon replied, "My alarm doesn't go off for…" He was cut off by his phone blaring Diamond Eyes by the band Shinedown. Simon quickly turned off his alarm, his face now bright red. Admittedly, Austin was blushing a bit himself due to his attire. "Guess I lost track of time…"

"I'm just glad you're okay, Si," Austin replied, smiling. Simon turned a shade brighter; he hadn't expected a nickname.

"I'm surprised you really care…" Austin gave a look of hurt.

"Why wouldn't I?" Simon's gaze fell to his feet, his hands wrung themselves behind his back and his feet toed nervously at the ground.

"There are a number of reasons, honestly." The Red Ranger gave a warm smile.

"You want to know one reason why I do?" Simon's ears perked up, and he immediately nodded. "I care because that's what friends do."

"You consider me a… friend?" Austin nodded, the smile never leaving his face.

"Of course." Simon returned to his nervous routine.

"In that case… would you like to go see the new X-Men movie tonight?" Austin didn't need even a second to consider.

"I'd love to."

* * *

Once dressed and ready for the day, Austin and Agent S met up with the rest of B Squad in Ops. They were informed by Commander Cruger that a search in the Helix nebula for A Squad had come up empty, making their MIA designation official. That having been said, Cruger left the Rangers to work with a single, somewhat cryptic statement:

"Be on the lookout for an intergalactic bank robber." Agent S made a quick assessment.

"Okay, scratch humans off the list…" he remarked. Before another word could be spoken, the alert siren went off.

"Robbery at Colony National Bank, stop him!" Cruger barked, "I keep my money at that bank…" The Rangers hurried off, but arrived at the scene too late. The bank was now being surrounded with yellow tape, and had a large, oblong opening in one wall. Clearly the hole was the result of someone slicing into the structure. Quickly, Bridge began examining the scene- and a few other things- closely; uncomfortably so. Austin, meanwhile, was called over by a young, blonde woman.

"Excuse me, are you interested in a witness?" she asked.

"Sure. What exactly did you see, ma'am?" Austin asked, remaining professional unlike his second in command. As Sky's eyes turned into hearts, the woman gave her statement.

"I was out walking my dog like I do every day, when this triangle-headed guy started slicing into the bank. He grabbed money and ran; slicing anything that got in his way." Just as the woman finished speaking, the conversation was interrupted by a call from base.

"Rangers, we've got an alien attack near your position! Put a stop to it!" Cruger radioed.

"Yes, sir," Austin replied, turning to the woman, "We'll look into it; thanks for the info." The Rangers then hurried off, morphing before coming face to face with a blue alien who had a large blade-like appendage on one arm. When they first arrived he'd just sliced the top off of a sedan, which had Austin thinking this new foe might just be the bank robber.

"Hey! Big, blue and ugly!" Austin shouted, catching the alien's attention, "You got one chance: come easy and we won't hurt you!" The monster seemed amused by the comment.

"You're not taking me in!" he declared. Dodging an attack from the Red Ranger, the alien countered a charge by the Blue and Green Rangers. The girls were no more successful, and soon the alien made his getaway. Having failed once more, the Rangers returned silently to base.

* * *

"Lieutenant Oliver, your assessment, please," Cruger ordered; the team gathered in Ops.

"Well, we have a sliced up bank, a witness, and an alien who fits the description," the Red Ranger remarked, "I'd say it's an open and shut case." Bridge wasn't so sure.

"Did anyone else notice the water at the scene? Or anything odd about that witness?" he questioned. A single nod of agreement from Agent S was accompanied by blank stares from Cruger and the other B Squad Rangers. "Commander, I'd like to run down some of my own leads. Think my own thoughts in my own way." he requested.

"Very well. Anyone want to go with Lieutenant Carson?" Cruger asked. Agent S raised a hand, moving alongside the Green Ranger.

"I'll go," he confirmed, leaving with Bridge. The remaining Rangers weren't convinced.

"Why'd you let him go, sir?" Austin asked, "I think we've got our man." Another siren cut off the conversation.

"Looks like your man has been spotted downtown," Cruger remarked. Taking the hint, Austin led the remaining four Rangers into battle against T-Top, as they now called him.

* * *

In a quiet alleyway, Broodwing dropped down to street level, greeting someone hidden in the shadows. The unseen being wasn't happy in the least bit, and hoped a new alliance would change its luck.

"I see you have a law enforcement problem," Broodwing remarked, "I can help, for a price." His latest customer handed over a large wad of cash. Their meeting concluded, Broodwing headed off to be as big a pain to the Rangers as possible.

* * *

T-Top, as the Rangers called him, walked dejectedly into an alley and sat on the ground. He had been unable to complete his mission, and now felt like a failure. Broodwing, watching from nearby, sent down a strange bat that bit the alien suspect. Against his will, T-Top grew to the size of a 30-story building like most large monsters the Rangers faced. Naturally, this set off a siren at S.P.D, and the Rangers quickly arrived in the Delta Squad Megazord.

"Light him up!" Austin cried, using the Megazord's blaster on the alien. Strangely, it did practically no damage to T-Top at all.

"No effect! What now?" Sky asked worriedly.

"Try super crime scene tape!" Bridge suggested. The other Rangers were shocked.

"That never works!" Syd protested.

"Trust me!" Bridge insisted. Despite his own judgment telling him otherwise, Austin took a gamble on the super crime scene tape. Surprisingly, the giant, super strong tape bound the alien successfully.

"Hey! Let me go!" the giant, blue extra terrestrial protested.

"Not a chance! You're charged with 5 counts of bank robbery!" Austin retorted, activating the Megazord judgment scanner. The alien remained strangely silent during the few seconds in which the device was working, but most shocking was the final reading of innocent.

"What? That's not possible!" Austin cried. Agent S popped in on comms.

"That's entirely possible, Austin," he asserted, "Sky, shrink cuffs please." Despite being surprised that Agent S knew of the Megazord's aforementioned device, Sky activated it and shrunk the alien back down to size. Arriving on the ground, the Rangers met up with Agent S and stared down their former suspect. Much to everyone's surprise, the witness showed up at that very moment.

"Hey, that's him!" she cried, "Arrest him!" Agent S looked at her through his official agency sunglasses.

"He's innocent," the Munkan replied, "Perhaps we should arrest you, though." Bridge smirked inside his helmet.

"After all, you're the one who framed him, so you must be the real bank robber," he accused. The woman tried to play them for fools.

"Really? What proof do you have?" she demanded. Bridge was only too happy to oblige.

"Agent S, recap our investigation," he instructed.

"Gladly," S replied, "First off, Bridge noticed water at the scene when it hadn't rained. Then, he tricked you into blowing up a balloon for the purpose of a balloon animal. This showed that you breathe like a plant. The final straw was when you revealed that your houseplants are from Fernovia."

"Apologies if I didn't piece all that together, guys, but what are you babbling n about?" Sky questioned. Austin put a hand up, silencing his second-in-command.

"They're right; I've heard about Fernovians from Kat and my mom," he remarked, "They're a plant-based species capable of jettisoning water at extremely high pressure, allowing them to cut through anything." Bridge nodded.

"You sure about those accusations, Mr. Green?" the woman asked. Bridge strode over to an abandoned, white sedan.

"Sure enough to do this," he remarked, attempting to hoist the car above his head. Surprisingly, he succeeded despite being under a lot of stress. Austin quickly ran over, grabbing hold of the vehicle as well. Synchronizing themselves with a short countdown, the two Rangers shocked the witness and their teammates by throwing the car at the woman. As Sky tried futilely to save her, the woman suddenly changed into her true, Fernovian form and sliced the car in half, saving herself.

"Well, I guess you caught me!" she admitted, "I'll just beat you all and then go take out Broodwing for not dealing with you like he promised!" The Rangers were not fazed in the least bit.

"Bridge, I think it's your turn to subdue the criminal," Agent S suggested. Austin gave a nod of approval, waving the others off as Bridge engaged the thief alone. The Green Ranger put up a surprisingly good fight, and even nullified the thief's water attack by spinning around to deflect it.. Finally he gained the upper hand, and managed to stun the thief for judgment.

"If the results of our investigation are correct, you should be…" Agent S started. There was a pause before Bridge's morpher displayed its judgment.

"Guilty!" the Green Ranger exclaimed. Despite the thief's protest, Bridge summoned the canine cannon to finish the job. He and Agent S handled the weapon while the other Rangers merely stood by as extra stability. Soon, the thief was down for the count, so Bridge contained her in one of the card-like units. WIth the other alien already in old-school containment thanks to the shrink cuffs, the Rangers led him inside for his own judgment. After all, he _had_ been on a rampage through the city.

* * *

A few minutes later, a hologram of Broodwing was displayed in Ops for B Squad to see. Cruger had been told what the Fernovian said, and knew the bat-like villain mentioned was serious business.

"Broodwing, a very evil creature who sells weapons, soldiers and robots to anyone who can afford it," Cruger explained, "He only cares about the money he makes. and nothing about the destruction that follows." Sky spoke up worriedly.

"I just had a bad thought," he asked, "What happens if he teams up with Gruumm?" Cruger paused.

"My guess, he already has."

* * *

Later that afternoon, Austin found Bridge in his strange, upside-down thinking stance in one of the common rooms. Feeling guilty about what he'd done during their earlier mission, the Red Ranger wished to apologize for his actions. Taking a seat next to Bridge, he was immediately asked a question.

"So, what happened to T-Top?" the Green Ranger questioned. Austin let out a sigh.

"He was sent packing with the confined Fernovian," the young Ranger answered, "He may not have robbed any banks, but he caused quite a bit of destruction and won't be allowed to return to Earth."

"Justice served," Bridge remarked. Austin nodded.

"Yeah… Listen, Bridge… I may not understand the things you do or how you think, but I've learned to respect them." he responded.

"Thanks, Austin," Bridge replied, "You know, that Agent S isn't a half bad guy." Austin couldn't help but smile.

"Yeah…" he admitted, "Anyway, I've gotta be somewhere; see you later." The Red Ranger stood and began to leave.

"Later," Bridge called cheerfully after him.

* * *

With his guilty conscience cleared, Austin set his mind on preparing for the movies that night. Just as he arrived on the second floor, however, his private cell phone went off. The caller ID displayed Simon's name, despite Austin never having created an entry for him. Answering the phone, Austin was greeted by the Munkan's high-pitched voice.

"Hey, I just found out we're in a bit of a pickle," he announced, "There are only three showtimes; two earlier this afternoon and one past ten o'clock." This was an issue, because the 2 hour movie, when started a ten, would end past Austin's midnight curfew. The Red Ranger sighed dejectedly, wondering when his rotten luck would finally change.

"Just wonderful…" he moaned, "I was really looking forward to it…" The young Ranger swore he could see Simon smiling through the phone.

"Well, we're not totally out of luck," the Munkan admitted, "I do have an agency-exclusive DVD copy." Austin's eyes widened.

"You're kidding me!" he exclaimed, shocked. Simon couldn't help but laugh.

"Being an MiB agent does have its perks," he admitted, "That being said, I had a suggestion. Before I ask, though, keep in mind that Munkans are a bit… childish by human standards..."

"You're talking to a high school graduate who stands less than 4 feet tall and has dinosaurs on his underwear. I think I can handle it," Austin reminded his friend, blushing lightly in the process. Simon remained silent for a few moments.

"Well… I was thinking we'd have a sleepover…" he finally spoke. Austin's heart sank immediately. While a sleepover sounded amazing, it would mean exposing his embarrassing nighttime secret. Still, he was admittedly rather fond of his Munkan friend, so perhaps this was for the best.

"Okay, but I have to warn you… we need to have a serious talk before the movie…" the Red Ranger answered after a few moments of contemplation.

"Alright, then, just come over anytime after dinner," Simon replied.

"See you then…" Austin confirmed.

* * *

At just past eight o'clock, Austin Oliver sat inside his room having made all the preparations for his big sleepover. He had already padded himself up for the night, and had supplies ready by the door in case he had to come back for a change. Steeling his nerves, Austin stood and peeked out the door into the hallway. Finding the second floor sufficiently empty, he quickly slipped out of his room and over to the door leading to Simon's. The young Ranger hesitated for a few moments before finally triggering the motion sensor and stepping inside.

"Ah, you're here!" Simon remarked, noticing his friend immediately, "And... I think I know what you wanted to talk about…" The Munkan was clad in a plain, white t-shirt and blue pajama pants with white trim. He nervously led his friend over to the couch, which faced a large viewscreen embedded in one of the walls.

"Since we're having a sleepover, I need to tell you my most embarrassing secret," Austin began. Simon grasped his friend's hand to reassure him.

"I'm not going to laugh, I promise," he remarked. Austin took a deep breath.

"About a year ago, I sustained a serious injury during a now-infamous altercation. This, compounded with my Scoliosis, is causing lingering issues with my spinal cord," he explained, "One of which is that I am now… a frequent bedwetter…" Simon wrapped an arm around his friend, giving him a light squeeze.

"I'm sorry you have to deal with that," he apologized, "I promise, your secret's safe with me." Austin gained two shades of red, but smiled nonetheless.

"Thank you. Shall we start the movie?" he asked. Simon nodded, using a remote to start the film. The bespectacled Munkan then pulled a blanket over the two of them; Austin quickly shying away from their embrace. Once again, Simon's arm brought them together; his human friend finally giving in. Austin rested his head on the bespectacled Munkan's shoulder, the two young males blushing lightly as they watched the movie. For the next two hours of their lives, this small slice of heaven was all that mattered.

Eventually, the movie came to an end, by which time Austin was growing tired due to his young body. Noticing this, Simon took advantage of their position by slowly lowering his body until they were lying down across the sofa. The Munkan's slightly taller body enveloped that of his human friend; the blanket now covering all but their heads. Simon quickly felt Austin's breathing become rhythmic.

"Sweet dreams…" he murmured, setting his glasses aside on an armrest. Closing his eyes, he gave Austin a gentle squeeze before joining him in dreamland.


	5. Noah, Part 1

05 Noah, Part 1

* * *

DISCLAIMER – I do NOT own Power Rangers, S.P.D, or any character other than Austin.

* * *

(S.P.D theme plays)

Two days after dealing with the Fernovian bank robber, Austin and the other Rangers were called to Ops at 9:30 in the morning. Agent S was noticeably absent, but Commander Cruger proceeded with the briefing anyway. As details were given about a string of electronics thefts- Gruumm was taking the day off, it seemed- Austin couldn't help but speak up.

"Sir, aren't we going to wait for Agent S?" he questioned. The other Rangers were reminded of the Munkan by this statement, and now appeared curious as well.

"Agent S has taken a short leave of absence," Cruger announced. As the Sirian returned to his original train of thought, Austin furrowed his brow and became lost in thought. He had a good hunch as to why Simon had left, and he sorely hoped this wouldn't separate them for good.

Early the next day, a 9 year-old boy named Noah stepped onto a basketball court in Newtech City. A group of children, both human and alien, were playing a pick-up game using a ball one of the humans owned. Noah, who was admittedly a bit small for his age, happened to wind up in the path of the ball when one of the boys lost control. Catching it, he found himself face-to-face with the entire group.

"Hey, mind if I play?" he asked. The ball owner spoke up, seemingly representing the entire group.

"Yeah, you're too small," he replied, "Ball?" Offended by the boy's words, Noah decided to get some petty revenge.

"Ball?" he questioned, tossing it up. As soon as the sphere had slipped through the hoop, Noah thrust a hand forward and the ball disappeared. "What ball?" The boys were shocked; things didn't just vanish in plain sight!

"What did you do to my ball?" its owner demanded.

"Oh, your ball? It's over there," Noah replied, pointing out in the distance. The boys looked over just in time to see the ball reappear and fall onto a chimney. Noah's aim had been slightly off, so instead of becoming stuck atop the stack, it bounced off and eventually wound up back on the ground.

"You're a freak," the owner remarked before leading the others to retrieve the ball. Noah shrugged.

"You should've let me play," he retorted. As he walked away, Noah's attention was caught by a strange doll sitting on a bench nearby.

"Hello, Noah," it spoke, surprising the boy. No one else seemed to be able to hear it. "That boy was not very nice. He should have let you play."

"No big deal," Noah insisted. The doll wasn't done.

"Yeah, especially when you can do things other kids can't, like make things disappear," it continued, "I'm Cindy Sunshine, and I want to be your friend." Noah was not convinced.

"Uh… you're a talking doll," he reminded it. The doll turned its head in creepy fashion.

"Oh, I am so much more than that," it insisted, "I'll be your friend and give you anything you want, and all you have to do is one tiny thing for me. I'll even send one of my friends to help. His name is Bugglesworth, and he wants to be your friend too." As Noah became convinced by the prospect of friends, little did he know that he was in fact being lured in by Gruumm's sometimes annoying accomplice, Mora. The villainess grinned as her latest evil plan took shape.

* * *

Meanwhile at Delta base, the Rangers were enjoying some leisure time. As the others did their thing, Bridge had assumed his usual- and possibly unhealthy- thinking stance for no discernable reason. Suddenly, he let his feet drop down and resumed a normal stance, having had some sort of major idea.

"I got it! This is brilliant!" he cried. Sky raised an eyebrow as Austin spoke up.

"What is?" the Red Ranger questioned. Bridge paused as Z turned off her music.

"It's no coincidence that we're all here," he surmised. Sky shook his head.

"Sorry, man, I think you've lost it," he remarked. Bridge rolled his eyes.

"No, think about it! We all have powers, we're all here, at the academy, Power Rangers," he continued, "The odds are astronomical." Syd actually gave the thought serious consideration.

"Maybe Cruger picked us because we had these powers," she suggested.

"Yeah, but why the five of us?" Bridge questioned. Syd paused before shaking her head.

"Okay, I'm confused," she remarked.

"Hello, Bridge is talking," Sky responded humorously. Z cut in angrily.

"Back off of him, Sky! I understand what he's saying," she responded, "Why is it we're all here? Where did we get these powers? Is it all part of some bigger plan?" Sky did not waver.

"Our powers are no big mystery," he retorted, "Face the facts; everyone of us, especially you, is a freak of nature." Austin immediately cut in.

"Enough, Sky, that was out of line!" he barked. Z raised a hand, preventing him from going further.

"Calm down, Austin," she spoke, "It's alright." The conversation was cut off by the emergency siren. As they grabbed their morphers, the Rangers were informed over comms to immediately head for the zords. Once they had morphed and entered the Delta Runners, they engaged a giant robot with what looked like several satellite dishes mounted on it. Despite several attempts at taking it down, the robot remained almost completely unfazed.

"Nothing's working!" Sky complained. As Austin rolled his eyes, the robot suddenly emitted some sort of energy from its satellite dishes and caused a building to disappear.

"Woah! Did you guys just see that?" Syd cried. Z's mouth hung agape while Bridge stared on in awe.

"Saw it, yeah. Still working on believing it," Sky replied. Austin made no response, his attention taken by a small boy who appeared to be helping the robot somehow.

'Who are you…?" the Red Ranger questioned. Within a few moments, both the boy and the robot disappeared as well, leaving the Rangers even more confused. Alas, there was nothing they could do, so they returned the runners to the zord bay and awaited further news on the robot's whereabouts.

* * *

A short while later, Austin was mulling things over in a common room when Bridge walked into the room looking for him. Spotting the sullen Red Ranger, he walked over to talk with him.

"Hey, you alright?" he asked. Austin let out a sigh, and then gave a nod.

"Yeah, I've just got a lot on my mind," he answered, "Did you need something?"

"If you want someone to talk to, I'm here," Bridge offered. Austin hesitated for a moment..

"Thanks, Bridge, but something tells me we've got more important things to deal with right now," he responded. The Green Ranger nodded.

"Yeah; we found the missing building," he announced. Austin's eyes widened.

"You're kidding me!" Bridge, it turned out, was not. Austin led B Squad to a set of coordinates on the beach. This brought them all face to face with the missing building; no robot or mysterious boy in sight. Entering the structure, the Rangers found it all but deserted.

"Where are all the people?" Z questioned. Bridge held up a pair of dolls.

"I think I may know…"

* * *

"The dolls definitely have traces of human DNA," Kat remarked. Hayley chimed in with another discovery.

"These two workers had twins in the same building, so they were likely left behind as surplus," she hypothesized. Kat nodded, agreeing with her partner's findings.

"We'll let you know if we come up with anything else," she promised. Before anyone else could say a word, the siren sounded throughout the base.

"Rangers, the robot is back!" Cruger announced. B Squad sprung straight into action, morphing without a moment's hesitation.

"Opening zord bay," Hayley remarked. Flashing a thumbs up, Austin led his team into their Delta Runners, which they immediately combined to form the Megazord. Engaging the robot, the Rangers again tried to subdue the elusive foe.

"Let's try the shrink cuffs!" Sky remarked, activating the gadget without getting approval. Surprisingly, the robot teleported the cuffs onto the Megazord's own arms, short circuiting it. With their means of attack temporarily disabled, the Rangers were stuck between a rock and a hard spot. Noticing the robot again teleporting to safety, Austin made a split-second decision.

"Bridge, you're in charge," he remarked, exiting the Megazord. Sky looked on in shock as Austin went after the mysterious boy he'd seen earlier. Now powered down, Austin tracked the boy down to a small junkyard nearby. He caught a glimpse of the boy heading inside, and then found him hiding inside a large piece of robot debris.

"You're a Power Ranger, aren't you?" Austin nodded.

"Yes, I am. My name's Austin, what's yours?" he asked. The boy hesitated for a moment.

"Noah," he replied. The Red Ranger put on a smile, trying not to scare the boy.

"You know, Noah, you and I have a lot in common," he remarked, lifting a large piece of debris with one hand and spinning it around like a basketball, "We've both got special powers, and we both know what it feels like to be different."

"Really? Do you know what it's like being so small and different that no one will even play a game of basketball with you?" Noah questioned. Austin looked him straight in the eye, somewhat hurt by the statement.

"I'm 19 years old, less than four feet tall and I have super strength," he responded, "I know exactly what it feels like." Just then, the Red Ranger's morpher chimed, alerting him to a call. Answering it, he had a short conversation with Kat; Noah mulling over his words in the meantime.

"What was that all about?" the boy questioned after the call ended. Austin turned away.

"That building you teleported," he answered, "The people inside were turned into dolls, and apparently if we can't change them back soon they'll be stuck that way forever." Before the words could truly sink in, a pink monster with a beak appeared and pulled Noah away from the Red Ranger. Bugglesworth, as the monster was apparently called, then tossed out an orange object that expanded into a menacing Krybot. Morphing, Austin engaged the fiend in battle.

As Bugglesworth made his getaway with Noah, the Red Ranger fought a losing battle against the new orange-head Krybot. He couldn't get in any offense, and it wouldn't be long before he was worse for wear. Suddenly, as he was blasted back for about the third time, he pulled out his morpher and called for his patrol cycle. Dodging another blast from the Orangehead, he jumped onto the incoming bike and hightailed it back to Delta base. This new Krybot meant business, and the Rangers would need some serious firepower if they hoped to defeat it.


	6. Noah, Part 2

06 Noah, Part 2

* * *

DISCLAIMER – I do NOT own Power Rangers, S.P.D, or any character other than Austin.

* * *

(S.P.D theme plays)

Back at Delta base, the B Squad Rangers waited for Commander Cruger to return to Ops after one of his longer absences. Austin remained quiet as several things ran through his mind. Meanwhile, Bridge and the others discussed the similarities between them, and how they'd all wound up at S.P.D together.

"Lieutenant Carson, you are correct." The conversation was cut short by Cruger's return. "You were all brought to S.P.D in one way or another… because your parents were all S.P.D." The Rangers' eyes widened in shock.

"Even mine?" Z asked doubtfully. Cruger looked over at Austin.

"Even Lieutenant Oliver's." The Red Ranger's eyes widened as he was snapped back to reality.

"That's not possible," he sputtered. Cruger couldn't help but let out a chuckle.

"Actually, it is," he corrected, "Your mother, along with the parents of the other Rangers, helped Dr. Manx create the Delta Morpher technology, and Tommy tested it. However, the chemical exposure has left you all with genetic powers. In Austin's case, they laid dormant until he obtained his Dino Gem."

"Incredible…" Bridge remarked. Sky, as usual, was not convinced.

"You can't seriously expect me to believe that Kat is that old," he retorted, "She's gotta be like 25... 30 tops." Cruger had to hold back laughter.

"One hundred and forty seven of your years," he corrected, "But I will tell her you said that."

"Does this have something to do with Noah?" Austin asked, curious. Cruger nodded.

"He's the last one." Bridge was amazed that his hunch had led to such a huge discovery.

"No way…" he remarked. Austin, however, was more concerned with the mission at hand.

"We've got to help Noah," he remarked. Suddenly, Kat and Hayley entered the room.

"He's not the only one you need to help," Kat remarked, "In a few hours, those people will be stuck as dolls forever."

"If you can defeat this 'Bugglesworth' monster, they should change back," Hayley added.

"Alright, here's the plan: we split up and find Noah," Austin instructed, "Without him helping, the monster will be easy to defeat." The other Rangers nodded and headed out towards where Noah had last been seen.

* * *

As the search for Noah began, Commander Cruger found himself strangely called to the front desk. When he arrived, the receptionist was speaking with a Munkan that appeared to be Agent S. It was hard to tell, however, because he was dressed in street clothes instead of a black suit. A blue jacket, white shirt, black jeans and sneakers replaced his standard MiB attire, and his glasses were now blue instead of black.

"What seems to be the problem here?" Cruger asked the receptionist. The woman glanced at something on her computer screen, seemingly memorizing it before speaking.

"Mr. Riley is requesting to see you in Ops, however S.P.D handbook section 1 clearly states that civilians without special invitation are to be limited to the first floor of the base," the receptionist explained. Cruger was, obviously, quite confused by the comment.

"Agent S is not a civilian," he insisted. The Munkan interrupted, speaking in an apologetic tone.

"Actually, Commander, I'm no longer with MiB. I resigned for personal reasons," he corrected, "Please use my real name now: Simon James Riley." Cruger nodded in acceptance.

"Would I be correct in assuming that you wish to join S.P.D?" he asked. Simon nodded. Before another word could be spoken, however, a series of events unfolded that could only be labeled as sheer chaos. First, a man's phone slipped from his grasp, and was then slipped upon- but not broken- by a woman. As the phone flew skyward, a nearby cadet slipped and sent a cart full of chemicals sailing towards the front desk. The receptionist ducked under the wooden furniture as Cruger froze in shock.

Simon, on the other hand, sprung into action without a second thought. Dashing forward, he caught the woman and brought her upright in a single, smooth motion while still moving. Next, he jumped, sprung off of two support pillars, caught the cellphone and followed his momentum back in the direction from whence he'd come. Handing the phone off to its owner, he slid to a stop and caught the cart, bringing it to a smooth, controlled stop without spilling anything.

"Woah…" was all Cruger could muster. Everyone else looked on in stunned silence. Regaining his composure, the Sirian pulled a morpher out of his pocket. Unlike the standard, black and white Delta Morpher, this one was navy and silver in color. For the first time in his career, Cruger decided to bypass S.P.D protocol. "Lieutenant Riley, welcome to B Squad."

* * *

As luck would have it, Austin eventually found Noah about ten minutes after splitting up from the others. However, it seemed he'd walked into a trap; Bugglesworth caught him by surprise and tried to make him a doll. Noah thwarted the attempt by teleporting Austin out of the way, leaving B Squad's leader safely behind some cover.

"Guys, I found Noah! Get over here stat!" Austin spoke into his morpher. Hearing him over the comms, the other Rangers headed his way as backup. Stepping out of cover, Austin faced Bugglesworth again only to be shocked when the monster's staff disappeared. Then Noah came out of hiding, the staff clutched in his hand. It was clear that he was through being fooled and misled.

"What are you doing? Give that back!" Bugglesworth demanded. Noah shook his head.

"I'm done following you!" he declared. Then he smashed the staff onto the ground, breaking it apart. The orange-head Krybot decided that this was the opportune time to make a reappearance, sending the small boy scrambling. Austin shouted to get the bot's attention, which allowed Noah to escape. This also lead to Austin being pinned in, though; normal Krybots coming to the aid of their superior.

"Need a little help?" It was Sky, leading the others into battle.

"More than a little!" Austin replied, happy to see his second in command for once.

"S.P.D, Emergency!" the five Rangers cried together. Morphing, they engaged the Krybots in an intense battle while Bugglesworth looked on. Soon all the normal bots had been defeated, leaving the orange-head on its own. However, the powerful bot was more than a match for the Rangers, so they called in the canine cannon as a last ditch effort. The orange-head met the blast with an attack of his own; the two beams of energy meeting in a battle for supremacy.

"Alpha Blasters, combo mode! Fully charged!" Both the Rangers and their foe were surprised by this new voice. "Fire!" The Orangehead was flanked by a powerful blast rivaling that of Austin's own blasters. His own attack stopped, the damaged bot was disintegrated by the full brunt of the canine cannon's power. Turning to see the mystery attacker, B Squad came face to face with a new Ranger. He was clad in an outfit just like Austin's, but in blue and with the black and silver swapped on the suit.

"Who are you?" Sky questioned, shocked. The unknown Ranger suddenly looked away, having heard something.

"Not now, Sky!" Austin exclaimed, "Kat, send the zords!" Within 60 seconds the Rangers were inside their respective Delta Runners.

"Sending the Alpha Runner now," Hayley remarked over comms. The unknown Ranger was soon jumping aboard a large zord in the shape of a vertical-takeoff-and-landing (VTOL) fighter jet. It was blue, silver and black in color, with weapons mounted on the wings. As the other Rangers formed the Megazord, the mysterious sixth Ranger moved in to attack. Needless to say, without Noah the monster didn't stand a chance. Bugglesworth's robot was destroyed, and he was contained soon after.

"Now that that's over, who are you?" Bridge questioned. The mysterious Ranger looked over the five Rangers before letting his gaze fall on Austin.

"You once knew me as Agent S. Now, I am the Alpha Ranger," he remarked, "Power down!" His Ranger suit disappeared, replaced with an S.P.D uniform. The colors were swapped, however, making it mostly black with gray detail. It also partly matched Sky's uniform, because it displayed blue as the Ranger color. "My name is Simon; Simon Riley." For the first time that day, Austin smiled.

"Welcome to the team, Simon."

* * *

The Rangers returned to Ops after the big reveal, meeting with both of their superiors as well as Kat and Hayley.

"Congratulations, Rangers, those dolls are back to their normal, human forms," Kat announced. The Rangers were glad to know that they had succeeded in helping Bugglesworth's victims.

"The mission isn't over, though," Cruger cut in, "Tomorrow morning you will search the city for Noah; it is only proper that he join the rest of you here at the academy."

"For now, though, get some rest," Tommy added, "It's been a long day."

* * *

A few minutes later, Austin and Simon sat together in a booth inside Hayley's Cyberspace: Newtech. It was just past seven, but already quite dark out. The two were discussing their relationship, which was sure to change now that Simon wasn't restricted by MiB regulations.

"I still can't believe you left MiB so we could be together," Austin remarked. Simon chuckled lightly.

"It was nothing, really," he insisted, "Besides, you're worth more to me than any job." Austin turned a light shade of red.

"Thank you; it's nice to have someone actually like me for a change," he replied. Simon smiled, giving his love a one-armed squeeze.

"I think you and I both know that saying I 'like' you is an understatement," he toyed. Austin let out a childish giggle.

"That's a fact," he concurred. The Red Ranger then grew nervous, looking at his feet as he asked a serious question. "Will you… be my boyfriend?" Simon nodded immediately.

"Of course," he answered. The new couple shared a hug before their server returned with what they had ordered. Their previous conversation was then set aside as delicious food beckoned.

* * *

Austin and Simon were busy the rest of the evening, as several changes were made to their living space. They first got some S.P.D techs to install a hallway connecting their respective rooms, and then shuffled the furniture about. Now, Austin's room was a bedroom, featuring a queen and a twin bed as well as two nightstands and a dresser. Simon's room was now entirely a leisure space, and had been supplied with a table, mini fridge, microwave and a small freezer, all for snacking purposes.

As a result, the two lovers weren't able to hit the showers until almost nine o'clock, but on the bright side they had the whole bathroom to themselves. Austin and Simon took advantage of this opportunity and took their relationship a step further by sharing a shower. It was an incredibly enjoyable, intimate activity; one they would not have usually partaken in until outside of wedlock. However, being that gay marriage had recently been banned, they decided to waive this precaution for the time being.

After cleaning up and dressing in pajamas, Austin and Simon headed back to their shared room. Upon entering the bedroom, Austin quickly found himself pinned to the larger bed by his love. Simon was met with no resistance as he pulled out some familiar supplies and prepared his boyfriend for a fresh diaper. Austin blushed and smiled as the Munkan taped on his padding; the scene felt like something out of a dream. As they climbed under the sheets together, the two males knew theirs was true love.

* * *

B Squad met up in the garage the next morning, their primary objective being the location of Noah. The girls boarded their Jeep as usual, Bridge and Sky mounting their patrol cycles. Seeing as Simon's cycle wasn't ready yet, he and Austin rode together in the latter's Mustang. The adaptive paint scheme was changed into one bearing S.P.D decals, allowing them free reign of the streets. Splitting up, the Rangers began the search for their elusive, young acquaintance.

It was half past twelve when Sky radioed that he'd spotted the boy entering a department store in the downtown area. The others converged on the store, parking out of sight and waiting for their target. Noah exited the store ten minutes after going inside, hands in the pockets of his hoodie and eyes darting from side to side. Knowing the boy's reputation, Sky pulled out his morpher and approached him. He clearly thought the boy was shoplifting.

"S.P.D, hands in the air!" the Blue Ranger barked, his morpher/badge raised. Noah attempted to flee into an alley between the store and an apartment building, but was thwarted by a dead end. Clearly, he didn't know his way around the city. In horror, Austin noticed too late that Sky had drawn his blaster. Criminal or not, this was excessive force when dealing with juveniles and he knew his second in command would not hesitate to use it.

The next ten seconds were a blur for the whole team. Noah used familiar acrobatics to wall jump onto the ladder of a fire escape. Sky fired his blaster immediately, striking the boy dead in the shoulder. Noah let out a cry of pain as he lost his grip on the ladder and began to fall. Acting on instinct, Austin darted forward, jumped up and caught the boy. Landing firmly on both feet, the Red Ranger turned to his second in command.

"Stand down, Sky," he ordered sternly, "That was excessive force, and you know it!"

"I'm pretty sure Cruger wants him _alive_ , too," Syd added. Sky quickly became defensive.

"I couldn't just let him get away! He stole something!" the Blue Ranger protested. Simon walked up, stuck a hand in the boy's hoodie and produced a small item.

"Power Rangers Holo Cards: Veterans Pack," he recited, "Approximately $3.74 with tax; not worth injuring someone over. Even if they _are_ stolen." Bridge nodded in agreement.

"Plus, you don't even know for certain he stole them," the Green Ranger pointed out, "You haven't even done a judgment scan." Z added another interesting insight.

"I know what it's like living on the streets with special powers," she remarked, "It's entirely possible that he's trying to avoid other kids, or even just embarrassed by his own interests." Despite being in pain, Noah turned a light shade of red. Austin sighed and weighed his options for a moment.

"Alright, here's the deal. The kid needs medical attention thanks to trigger-happy over here." He glared at Sky. "We're gonna take him back to base and get him patched up. We'll tell Cruger what happened here, and it'll be up to him what happens next." The others nodded, returning to their vehicles. By this time, Simon had already placed the holo cards in an evidence bag and bandaged Noah's wound. Austin loaded the boy into the back seat of his Mustang, and then the two Rangers drove back to base.

* * *

"You WHAT?" Commander Cruger demanded, the Sirian seething with anger. Austin had just finished recounting the earlier events, and now the head of S.P.D Earth was looking Sky dead in the eye.

"Sir, the boy committed a crime, so I-" Sky protested. Cruger cut him off angrily.

"Regardless of the situation, use of deadly force against a child is completely unacceptable! I should have your badge for this!" he roared. Sky stepped back, shocked. Austin surprised even himself by stepping in to mediate.

"Commander, I agree with the first part of your statement, but in this case we must consider outside circumstances," he interjected, "While he is a child, Noah was seen collaborating with criminals aligned with Emperor Gruumm. Sky likely took action thinking the kid could call in Krybots or something." Cruger considered the Red Ranger's words for a moment.

"You have a point," he finally admitted. Just then, Tommy entered the room and caught the group's attention.

"Noah has been stitched up and is now ready for questioning," he announced. Cruger paused for a moment before picking up a file and holding it out to Austin.

"Lieutenant Oliver, I'm placing Noah's case in your hands. I have… _other things_ to deal with," he remarked, growling at Sky, "Come with me, Lieutenant Tate. The rest of you, dismissed."

* * *

By the time he entered the base's hospital wing, Austin had gone through Noah's file and knew exactly what questions he wanted to ask. The Red Ranger found his young acquaintance sitting on a bed towards the back of the wing, thankfully in an isolated room. The boy had his shirt off, revealing a nasty, patched-up wound on his shoulder as well as the waistband of a pair of Green Lantern briefs.

"Hi there, my name's Austin," the Red Ranger remarked, sitting down on a bed across from the boy.

"I'm Noah…" came the soft response. Clearly he was still a bit shaken up.

"I'm sorry about earlier; what happened was against S.P.D rules," Austin apologized, "I promise, no one's going to hurt you now." Noah breathed a sigh of relief and calmed down a bit.

"Let me guess: you have some questions to ask," he spoke up. Austin nodded.

"The first thing I want to address is what you did yesterday," he began. The boy fessed up immediately.

"I-I was tricked into teleporting the building," he admitted, "After that, they made violent threats to keep me from leaving." Austin blinked in surprise; this was going to be easier than he thought. Noting the boy's expression and mannerisms, the Red Ranger concluded that he was telling the truth.

"Alright, moving on to today," Austin continued. He produced the holo cards Noah had obtained earlier. "Sky was under the impression that you stole these." Noah shook his head.

"I paid for them with my own money," he insisted, reaching into his pocket, "Here, I have the receipt." Austin examined the slip of paper and found all the details correct. Noah was completely in the clear. "So... am I free to go?" the boy asked, pulling on his shirt.

"Not exactly." Austin turned to see not just Tommy, but both his parents standing in the doorway. The two walked over, motioning Austin to sit next to Noah while they sat on the bed he'd been on.

"This is going to come as a shock, but... you two are brothers," Tommy announced. Austin's eyes widened in shock.

"B-Brothers?" he questioned, "But how?" Tommy looked at Hayley, who knew the details better.

"My brother's wife has the same problem as your father's sister," she explained. Austin caught on immediately.

"So Noah's a test tube baby too?" he deduced. Hayley nodded.

"My brother specifically chose one of my eggs, and by some freak coincidence, they used Tommy's sperm," she confirmed.

"That explains why my parents sent me here," Noah remarked, "I guess I'm joining the academy, huh?" Tommy nodded.

"Austin will train you, and then you'll join B Squad when you're ready," he confirmed. The meeting was suddenly interrupted by the intercom.

"B Squad, report to the center of operations immediately." Austin looked apologetically at his family, handing Noah his holo cards before heading off towards Ops.

"Rangers, I have assignments for you to work on for the rest of the day," Cruger announced. The Rangers were sent off in pairs, Syd with Z and Simon with Bridge. With Sky off serving his punishment, Austin- the last to receive orders- found himself alone.

"What about me, sir?" Austin asked. Cruger paused for a moment.

"Lieutenant Oliver, I understand you've gone through a lot in the past 36 hours," Cruger remarked. Austin nodded.

"Yes, sir," he admitted "Simon's absence combined with our unusual mission put a lot of stress on me."

"My apologies. I'm giving you the afternoon off under the guise of training," Cruger replied, "Spend some time with your brother; I'm sure you two want to get to know each other." Austin was shocked at first, but quickly regained his composure.

"Yes sir, thank you sir," he responded, saluting before leaving Ops. Immediately he headed to gather his brother; they had quite a day ahead of them.

* * *

Late that night, Noah Ziktor was led by his father to the second floor of Delta base. After a long day of bonding with his older brother, it was time for the boy to be assigned a room and get some rest. Tommy led Noah down the hall and into a room numbered 249. The two stumbled upon a surprising scene, which quickly turned awkward.

Austin, laid out on a queen bed, was padded up for the night and losing a tickle war between himself and Simon. The Red Ranger couldn't stop himself from laughing, even when his father and brother entered the room. Simon, however, promptly ceased his actions and allowed his boyfriend to regain his composure. Now red as a tomato, Austin looked nervously up at his father. Before a word could be spoken, Hayley rushed into the room and came to a stop.

"...I'm too late, aren't I?" she asked. Tommy just looked at her incredulously, receiving a sigh in response. "Let me explain. That injury Austin sustained during the Wizard Wood incident has caused some spinal issues, which have made him a bedwetter."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Tommy asked both Hayley and Austin at once. The Red Ranger actually spoke up this time.

"I was embarrassed and thought you'd laugh at me… so I went to mom instead…" he admitted. Tommy sat down and pulled his elder son into a hug.

"I would never laugh at you, not because of something like that," he promised, "Next time something like this happens, don't be afraid to tell me." Austin hugged his father back.

"Okay, dad…" he responded. The elder Oliver then motioned to Noah.

"Noah is going to be rooming with you now. Is that alright?" he announced. Austin nodded, smiling.

"It's fine, dad," he replied, turning to Noah, "Come on, bro, there's space for your stuff in here." The Red Ranger opened an empty drawer of the dresser as Noah walked over. Their parents watched as what few clothes Noah had were neatly put away.

"Alright, we're leaving now. Good night, you two," Hayley announced once the boys were done.

"Good night, mom; good night, dad," Austin replied. Noah mimicked his performance.

"Good night, boys," Tommy responded. He and Hayley then left as Austin turned to his brother, giving him a verbal tour of the room.

"Simon and I share the queen bed, so you can have the twin. Help yourself to any food or drink you find, and make yourself at home," he remarked.

"Thanks, bro. I'm glad we get to room together," Noah replied. Austin smiled and nodded.

"Me too," he agreed, "Now, let's get some sleep. I think we could all use the rest." The others nodded and quickly got ready for bed. Soon, the three roommates were in bed, the room dark save for a small night light. Austin looked across the room as Simon snuggled up behind him; Noah was probably the best brother he could have asked for. Smiling, he took one last look at the nine year-old before closing his eyes and joining his boyfriend in dreamland.


	7. Dino Dilemma

07 Dino Dilemma

* * *

DISCLAIMER – I do NOT own Power Rangers, S.P.D, or any character other than Austin. I do not own Jurassic Park or any of its characters.

* * *

(S.P.D theme plays)

It had been a rather boring week since Noah joined S.P.D. Gruumm had tried several underwhelming plans, but was foiled on each and every occasion. Now, Conner McKnight, the Red Dino Thunder Ranger, was scheduled to arrive for the big, upcoming soccer game within a day. The Reefside Wave would face the Newtech Jets in a hotly anticipated match, but that wasn't all the Rangers would be focused on.

Tommy had received free tickets to a new movie theater being opened downtown. Advertised as an 'alternate reality' theater, attendees would supposedly experience their favorite films like never before. The plan for the day was for Tommy and his sons to see a movie before joining Hayley at Conner's game that afternoon. Simon would lead B Squad in the meantime, with Cruger supervising and Kat working solo in the lab.

Everything went as expected, up until the boys arrived at the theater. Gruumm's new, red and silver monster attacked the theater with a legion of krybots and an orange-head. Noah lacked Ranger powers, so he was easily overwhelmed and trapped in one of the theater's AR pods. Austin and Tommy eventually followed; the three now stuck inside a movie indefinitely. His first task a success, the monster left the krybots behind as guards before setting his sights on the next link in the Rangers' chain of command.

* * *

The muffled sound of helicopter blades was the first thing Austin heard when he awoke. Last he knew, a monster had attacked his family at the alternate reality theater as they waited to see Jurassic Park. His brother, Noah, had become locked into one of the AR pods, and that marked a significant turn in the battle. Now he found himself onboard a helicopter, along with his father, brother and several eerily familiar characters.

Opposite Austin sat Donald Gennaro, a balding and graying lawyer representing Jurassic Park's investors. To his left sat Ian Malcolm, a dark-haired mathematician who- due to actor Jeff Goldblum- always spoke in a rather odd manner. On Malcolm's left, next to the door, sat the white-haired creator of Jurassic Park, InGen CEO John Hammond. Lastly, seated across from Hammond, was the blonde paleobotanist, Ellie Sattler. Tommy sat to her left, followed by Austin himself and Noah, respectively.

At first there was silence as the helicopter neared Isla Nublar, likely accounting for the outer helicopter shots around 15 minutes into the movie. Dialogue soon began, though, with Hammond speaking up as expected. However, he started on a different topic than in the original film, while using Grant as Tommy's surname. He and his sons quickly felt a sort of mental pressure to say certain lines in response; likely to adhere to the movie's plot.

"I'm sorry your sons had to be dragged into this, Dr. Grant," Hammond apologized, "Truth be told, my niece and nephew were supposed to come along, but something came up." Tommy was quick to respond.

"It's fine, really," he promised, "Sorry to hear about that." Hammond then rattled off his scripted warning about the chopper's quick descent, followed by a sudden, downward lurch. This lead everyone to buckle their seatbelts; Tommy avoiding the scripted gag that would have him grab part of Dr. Sattler's belt by mistake. Soon, the chopper touched down on the island, its occupants exiting with Hammond taking the lead.

Austin and Tommy knew all too well what would come next, but Noah was considerably less informed. They were equally unprepared, however, for the sheer size and magnificence of what they were about to see. At the same time, the mystery surrounding their entrance into the movie had all three of them worried. If they hadn't the slightest idea how they'd become part of the film, how were they supposed to get back out?

* * *

Sky Tate had just left Delta Base for a short jog in the park nearby. He had shed his blaster and uniform jacket for the time being; his delta morpher the only thing left on his person. As he rounded a bend in the path, he was suddenly attacked by krybots, a blue-head and a monster. Immediately, he called for backup and morphed to fight off the menace.

It took just over a minute for the rest of B Squad- sans Austin- to arrive from the base already morphed. Simon led the team into battle, interfering just as Sky was being overwhelmed. It was thanks to his teammates that the Blue Ranger avoided being defeated, and possibly even captured. The monster sounded the retreat before the Rangers could defeat it, leaving the five S.P.D Lieutenants rather surprised.

"Back to base, everyone; we should speak to Cruger about this," Simon ordered. Agreeing wholly, the other Rangers immediately followed the munkan back to base.

* * *

Breathing became significantly more difficult as the group boarded a pair of Jeeps that would take them into the park. The Oliver trio knew what was to come, but were certain that they'd feel a mix of shock and awe regardless. Soon, the Jeeps had arrived in a large, open area where, as predicted, Hammond signaled the drivers to stop. Taking a deep breath to prepare himself, Tommy steeled his nerves and looked left when he received the mental cue.

"Whoa…" The boys had looked at the same time, making a short remark in unison. Standing before the group, grazing from a supposedly extinct tree, was a gargantuan beast known as a Brachiosaurus.

"It's your favorite dinosaur, dad," Austin toyed, speaking quietly. Tommy rolled his eyes, but still watched the magnificent beast fondly. The seasoned paleontologist noted that the large sauropod was made more accurate than in the original film, and also no longer reared up on its haunches to get food. This had been ruled highly unlikely by scientists due to the angle of the species' torso making such an action unsuitable.

"Hey, parasaurs!" Noah remarked, wide-eyed. Austin followed his brother's gaze.

"Parasaurolophus, actually," he corrected, "The most popular of the duck-billed hadrosaurs." Tommy grinned proudly at his elder son's knowledge; like father, like son. Despite the dangers that lurked ahead, this was turning out to be an extremely enjoyable experience.

* * *

"Commander Cruger, sir, we need to speak immediately," Simon remarked, leading B Squad into the ops center. The sirian appeared a bit surprised.

"Did you not contain the monster?" he questioned. The Alpha Ranger shook his head.

"No, but we think Gruumm is trying to go after us one at a time," he explained. Cruger was immediately alarmed, but was too slow to respond.

"Sir, I have a serious suspicion," Sky spoke up, "We've deduced that I was singled out, but why attack _me_ first? You'd want to start-!" Cruger cut the Blue Ranger off.

"With the leader! Rangers, to the theater at once!" he barked, "Stay together at all times!" The Rangers' eyes widened as they quickly morphed and hurried to their vehicles. Simon's heart raced as they sped through the streets of Newtech; the munkan feeling overcome with worry for his boyfriend. As they neared the deserted venue, he prayed everything would turn out alright.

* * *

Finally, moving on from the scene of their first dino encounter, the group rode the rest of the way to the Jurassic Park visitor center. Hammond spoke more about the park as he lead the way upstairs to a presentation about how the dinosaurs were cloned. Despite their prior knowledge, the trio were excited to see the Velociraptor hatch in the incubation room.

After seeing the dino hatch, however, the trio began noticing some distortion in the alternate reality of the film. This reminded them of their predicament, which they'd almost forgotten. They had no way of knowing what was occurring in the real world, but hoped that rescue would come before they met the Tyrannosaurus Rex.

* * *

Arriving at the empty AR theater, the Rangers were immediately confronted by Gruumm's forces. The were quickly overwhelmed by the monster and orange-head tag team, turning to strategy as a last ditch effort. With the others drawing off the heavy hitters, Simon fought past the normal krybots and arrived at the pods holding his friends. Working quickly, the munkan genius hacked into the theater's systems and released the three captives.

"Whoa... where are we...?" Austin sputtered as he came to. Simon helped the trio to their feet.

"We're in that crazy theater you guys went to," he explained, "Come on, we've got to help the others!" The group rushed back to the front of the building, only to find the others retreating. Just then, none other than Conner McKnight ran up to the theater.

"You guys need some help?" he asked. Tommy nodded.

"Yeah," he replied, turning to his younger son, "Noah, it's time. Just make sure you take the test when we get back." Noah nodded as Tommy handed over a white and Navy S.P.D morpher with gold lettering and key activation. Austin looked up at his old teammate.

"Ready?" he asked, preparing to morph.

"Ready!" Conner confirmed. Tommy pulled out his old morpher.

"It's morphin time!" he exclaimed, "Dragonzord!"

"Tyranno power!" Conner followed.

"S.P.D Red!" Austin continued.

"S.P.D Alpha Ranger!" Simon added.

"S.P.D. Omega Ranger!" Noah finished proudly, inserting his key. The five Rangers morphed in a spectacular scene, facing off against the villains. Immediately, they split up, Tommy leading Noah and Simon against the monster. Meanwhile, Austin and Conner teamed up to face the orange-head.

"These guys powerful?" Conner questioned. Austin dodged an energy attack.

"Very!" he answered. The two Red Rangers pulled out their weapons and attacked, matching the orangehead blow for blow. It became obvious that more firepower was needed, so Austin turned to his former leader. "Time for the Triassic Ranger!"

"Got it!" Conner assured him, pulling out the Shield of Triumph, "Triassic power!" Austin watched as the other two combatants were pulled into the Triassic dimension. Putting his blasters in combo mode, he charged them up and waited. Moments later the orange-head reappeared, having suffered extreme damage. It promptly ate Austin's charged shot to the face, blowing its head clean off. "Nice job!" Conner remarked, high-fiving his friend.

"Couldn't have done it without ya," Austin responded. The two stowed their weapons and hurried to check on the other half of the fight. As it turned out, Tommy had worked with Noah to defeat the monster father-and-son style, and then let Noah have the honor of judging and containing it. With the battle won, the five Rangers powered down and hurried to regroup with the rest of B Squad. Thankfully, the four young adults were all okay, so the team headed back to Delta base without further ado.

After such a chaotic morning, things had finally settled down for the big soccer game that afternoon. Tommy, Hayley, Austin and Noah sat in VIP front row seats as the Wave took the field to face the Jets. The match was an exciting duel, with both teams repeatedly threatening to score. Not a single goal was made, however, until less than a minute was left.

Receiving the ball between midfield and his own goal, Conner began to dribble down the field. With every defender he passed, the crowd on the Reefside end grew louder and more excited. Finally, he neared the goal with time running out; a single shot left to decide the entire game. Dodging one last defender, he drilled a shot past the goalie as the last second ticked off the clock.

Half of the stadium erupted, the players and coaches celebrating wildly. Once he was released from the inevitable mosh pit, Conner walked over and grabbed Austin from the stands. The two celebrated together for a short bit, and then the younger Ranger was given back to his parents with game ball in hand. For the time being, they would separate, but Conner had one more surprise in store.

* * *

Just after dinner that night, Austin sat in his, Noah's and Simon's bedroom with the game ball in his lap. He had already dressed and prepared for bed, and was now sitting alone while Noah and Simon finished up in the bathroom. With his head resting on the ball, Austin looked silently down at the thick, white padding it sat upon. Conner was his best friend, but if the star soccer player ever saw him like this, or learned about Simon... well, that could easily change.

Setting the ball down on his bed, Austin headed to the other room to grab a snack. Why he got hungry so quickly he'd never know, but a pouch of cookies was enough to satiate him this time. Just as he'd finished eating the tiny treats, the familiar sound of a door sliding open met his ears. Tossing the pouch in the trash bin, he turned to see whether Noah or Simon had made it back first. Breath caught in his throat, however, when he saw Conner instead.

The taller of the two Red Rangers looked down on his friend, not with disdain, but instead curiosity. The situation was made even more awkward by the entrance of Simon and Noah, which left Conner even more confused. Austin mentally wished he could be anywhere else but in his room at the moment, save perhaps with Gruumm. In an act rather uncharacteristic of a leader, Austin cracked under pressure and retreated to the bedroom.

Still frozen, it took Conner a moment before everything sank in and he rushed after his friend. In those short, few seconds, Austin had managed to cross the room and bury himself under the sheets of his and Simon's bed. Conner let out a disheartened sigh; his big surprise had blown up in his face. Despite his growing regret, the soccer star was determined to set things right. Taking a seat on the edge of the bed, he tried to reason with his friend.

"Austin, I know you're scared," he spoke softly, "But I promise, if we can just talk about this, it'll be okay." The younger Ranger peeked out of the covers.

"You're not going to laugh at me?" he questioned. Conner shook his head, finally coaxing Austin out of hiding. The small boy could not say a word, however, before he was hoisted into his friend's lap.

"Now, let's start with the diaper."

* * *

After a short but emotional talk, Austin found himself seated in his best friend's lap as they played video games with Noah and Simon. Conner had been surprisingly understanding, and was even supportive of the boy's relationship with Simon. Austin considered himself lucky to have such a friend; someone who accepted him for who he was. Conner, on the other hand, felt almost like a big brother to his young, former teammate. He just wished that they could see each other more often, like they had during the Dino Thunder days.

Sadly, after several hours of playing, it seemed they'd part ways again. It was high time they all got to sleep, and likely Conner would be staying in a hotel room provided by the Wave. As the boys began preparing for bed, however, they were shocked to hear the teen inquire about a spare toothbrush. This was completely unexpected.

"Are you staying the night, Conner?" Austin asked. The soccer star nodded.

"I figured I'd spend as much time with you guys as I could before the team leaves tomorrow afternoon," he explained. Excited, Austin couldn't help but smile.

"Alright, I guess you get the sofa," he remarked, "And we should have a spare brush for you somewhere…" Already tired, the three boys helped locate an unused toothbrush and some blankets for their guest. By the time Conner was settled in, all three boys appeared as if they would fall asleep standing up. Simon and Noah quickly headed off to bed, but Austin stayed behind to say a few parting words to his best friend.

"Good night, Conner," he spoke, "See you in the morning." Conner hoisted the boy up for a hug, which was gladly accepted.

"Good night, Austin," he spoke. The soccer star stopped short, however, noticing that his friend's breathing had become rhythmic. The boy had, surprisingly, passed out on top of him! Conner gently ruffled Austin's hair as the boy slept; he looked so innocent and cute. Smiling, he put an arm over his friend for security, and then joined the little tyke in dreamland.

* * *

Austin wound up getting breakfast by himself the next morning; an odd occurrence. It was not alone, however, because something about this entire morning felt… off. Shaking off this strange feeling, Austin grabbed some french toast from the food counter and turned to find a place to sit. Then, as he entered, the entire cafeteria burst into laughter. Austin looked down, and found that not only had he somehow forgotten pants, but he still wore a diaper!

Suddenly, all was quiet and dark; it had just been a nightmare. Austin found himself lying on top of Conner, his head resting on the teen's chest. Glancing up at the teen, he smiled and wrapped his short arms around him. Conner, at least, had accepted him, and his presence alone was enough to set the boy at ease. Closing his eyes, Austin let himself drift off again.

* * *

A muffled sound, possibly an alarm; he couldn't be sure. Austin was barely awake, but the sound quickly stopped and left him to sleep again. Some time later, how long he was unsure, he awoke once again. Now it was loud, like a large crowd chatting amongst themselves. He forced his eyes open, and was surprised to see, yet again, Conner's chest. He looked up and around; the teen had likely dressed him and carried him down to the Cyberspace.

Simon, Noah and the other Rangers sat with them at a table, each with food before them. Looking beside the plate of waffles Conner was eating, Austin spotted a full dish of french toast they had likely grabbed for him. The last thing his senses detected was that, despite being clad in his usual uniform, something about the outfit felt… off, for lack of a better word. Then, the others noticed he was awake.

"Good morning, sleepyhead," Sky taunted, "You get enough rest?" Syd suddenly huffed for no discernable reason.

"Simon said they went to bed at midnight; that's a full eight hours," she grumbled, "I wish I'd gotten that much." Austin started to respond, but Z was faster.

"Go to bed earlier," she suggested. It clearly wasn't the first time she'd said it, as Syd glared at her and turned away. Finally, Austin was able to speak.

"Alright, calm down," he ordered, "Any new crimes yet?" Sky, of course, spoke up.

"We haven't heard anything-," he started, but the siren cut him off. "Until now. I guess you jinxed it." Bridged disagreed.

"It was bound to happen at some point, anyway," he pointed out. Sky shrugged.

"Fair enough," he admitted. Austin, meanwhile, had made the startling discovery that his morpher was missing.

"Conner, where's my morpher?" he questioned. The soccer star immediately gave a look of frustration, although it was possibly fake.

"I knew I was forgetting something!" he swore, "It's probably back in your room." Austin sighed in frustration.

"Alright, here's what we'll do," he instructed, "Conner and I are going to go get my morpher. The rest of you get to Ops. Sky, you're in charge."

"I'll do my best," the Blue Ranger replied. Austin gave a nod before grabbing his french toast and heading towards the elevator. He managed to eat the entire dish before they exited the elevator, at which point Conner stopped to use the bathroom. Continuing down the hall, the younger Ranger arrived at the room he, Noah and Simon all shared. Using the door leading straight to the bedroom, he moved to grab his morpher from the bedside table.

Austin stopped short when his bed came into view, shocked by what lay atop it. A big, plastic package of training pants sat in plain view, and it was already open and missing a pair. It was then that Austin remembered the feeling he'd noticed earlier; now it all made sense. Gulping, he tugged his pants down to his knees, revealing a white, padded garment with red sides and Power Rangers designs on the front and back.

Embarrassed, Austin immediately debated changing into some briefs. The soft padding was too much for him to resist, though, so he opted to stick with the training pants. Being thinner than his diapers, they were easily hidden by his pants anyway. Grabbing his morpher, he exhaled and turned to leave the room. The door was blocked, however, by none other than Conner McKnight; a knowing grin on the soccer star's face.

"So, do you like my little surprise?" he asked, smiling. Austin couldn't help but blush.

"You got these? Why?" he asked, curious. Conner walked over, taking a seat beside his friend.

"I felt bad about how things started last night," he explained, "I wanted to make up for it, and I had a feeling you'd like those. Are we cool?" Austin managed a shy, embarrassed smile.

"I do, and we are," he promised, "Thanks." The two boys shared a hug, and then Conner swiftly and suddenly picked up his small friend. Held around the back and under his admittedly padded rump, Austin wrapped his arms tightly around the teen. Conner smiled as he carried the boy down the hall; things were once again looking up. However, there was one more twist left for the pair when they finally arrived in Ops.

"Austin, there you are," Kat remarked, getting the pair's attention, "Tommy and Cruger were summoned to galactic command for a hearing; something to do with issuing morphers early." Austin raised an eyebrow, concerned.

"If they're _both_ gone, who's running S.P.D Earth?" he questioned. Kat went silent, staring at her feet as if unsure what to say.

"This is going to be hard to believe, but… you are," Hayley answered for her. Austin's eyes widened in shock.

"Well… this is going to be interesting…" he sputtered. Conner nodded in agreement.

"Indeed it is," he concurred. Taking a deep breath, Austin sat down in what was usually Commander Cruger's chair.

"So, first thing's first," he remarked, addressing the two scientists, "Where's B Squad?"


	8. Idol

08 Idol

* * *

DISCLAIMER – I do NOT own Power Rangers, S.P.D, or any character other than Austin.

* * *

(S.P.D theme plays)

Austin and Conner met B-Squad as they returned from the early morning incident. Brought with them was an unidentified humanoid in unusual S.P.D garb. Simon immediately stepped forward to explain the situation.

"Did Kat tell you what happened?" he asked first. Austin nodded.

"Alien ship crash," Austin confirmed, "Is clean-up under way? Who's this?" Simon glanced back at the unidentified male.

"We doused the fire with the Megazord, and yes, cadets are cleaning up the wreckage as we speak," he confirmed, "As for our pilot friend, Sky seems to know who he is." Austin turned his focus to the Blue Ranger.

"Start explaining," he ordered. Sky rolled his eyes at the boy's apparent impression of Cruger.

"Dru and I started out at the academy years ago," he remarked, "We were best friends." Dru cut in to the conversation.

"Hey, more like brothers," he corrected, "Then about… 3 years ago, I got assigned to the Nebula academy to complete my training." The conversation quickly became casual as Dru turned to his old friend. "So, is this guy still wild and wacky?" Z couldn't help but laugh.

"Wild and wacky?" she questioned, "Those aren't exactly the first words that come to mind." Sky sighed in annoyance.

"Don't listen to her," he implored his friend, "So, what happened to you? Last I heard, you were missing in action over a year ago." Again, he was cut off.

"Well I'm not dead, if that's what you were going to say," Dru explained, "Honestly, though, I feel lucky to be alive. I was pursuing an intergalactic criminal named Zantor. His ship broke up while entering Earth's atmosphere, and some debris brought me down."

"Had to be something like that to bring this top gun down," Sky remarked, the two smacking a pair of identical, metal bands together.

"What's up with the bracelets?" Austin questioned. Dru was quick to respond.

"These are Tangarian coils," he answered, "On my home planet of Tangar, it's custom to share a coil with your closest friend to always feel that connection no matter where you are."

"They're _bracelets_ ," Austin insisted. Syd and Z had to reign in laughter.

"I guess you don't have a best friend," Dru retorted. The effort fell flat as Conner stepped up to Austin's side, Dru receiving multiple looks of disdain. Sky was quick to make the save.

"I can see this conversation is deteriorating," he remarked, heading for the door, "I'm going to show Dru his room." Austin walked past the Blue Ranger and his friend, also leaving.

"Well, I'm going to the range," he announced, "I missed my firing practice because someone crashed their ship."

* * *

"Alright, guests first," Austin remarked, having been joined by Sky and his friend in the range. Dru stepped forward to shoot, but then stopped and turned to the Red Ranger.

"Austin, may I borrow your blaster, please?" he asked, Austin nodded and handed it over. Sky started the simulation, and then Dru dove to the right, paused and blasted all three target balls with one shot. Austin spoke up quickly.

"Nice, but let's see how it stacks up," he remarked. Morphing, he pulled out his delta blasters and activated a special program on the console. Six targets appeared. Dru watched in shock as Austin took aim, fired a shot from each blaster and destroyed every single ball.

"Astounding…." Dru remarked as 'New Record' was displayed on the console. Sky was equally impressed.

"Guess you broke one of Dru's records," he admitted, "Nice."

"Thanks," Austin replied, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to head back upstairs."

* * *

Early the next morning, Austin sat half-asleep in Commander Cruger's chair in Ops. Conner had left the previous afternoon, leaving the S.P.D Red Ranger lonely and a little emotional. The room was dark, quiet and empty when he was joined by none other than Dru. The tangarian was only a few feet away when he finally announced himself, startling his superior.

"Woah!" Austin cried, startled, "Dru? What are you doing here?" The young man remained straight-faced.

"Couldn't sleep, so I thought I'd come and see if Commander Cruger was here," he answered. Austin raised an eyebrow.

"At 4 am? he questioned. A brief pause. "Whatever," Austin continued, "Commander Cruger is at S.P.D Command, and will be returning later this morning." Dru looked sincerely apologetic.

"I'll leave you to you work, then," he apologized, turning to leave. Austin stood, remembering something.

"Dru," he called out. The young man stopped. "Sky mentioned you were missing in action. I'm curious; where were you?" Dru turned to face the Red Ranger.

"Not much of a story, really," he explained, "Truth is, I don't remember." Again, Austin became suspicious.

"A whole year, and you don't remember at all?" he asked doubtfully. Dru shook his head.

"When they found me, I had amnesia." The conversation was interrupted by Sky walking in.

"Hey guys, what's going on?" he asked. Austin spoke first.

"Oh, we were just-," he started.

"Interrogating me," Dru cut in. Sky gave a look of shock.

"What? Why?" he questioned. Austin sighed in annoyance.

"He was-!" The boy stopped, rethinking his response. "I don't have to answer to you. Sky, take him back to his room," he ordered, "Only authorized personnel are allowed in the command center."

"Dru's S.P.D!" Sky immediately countered. Austin wasn't having any of it.

"He _was_ S.P.D; he's been missing in action and needs to be reevaluated," he corrected sternly. Sky gave a mock salute.

"Yes, sir," he gave in, leading Dru out of the room. Austin turned and faced the wall, frowning.

"So what's up with that guy?" Dru asked as he and Sky walked towards his room, "How can you stand to be around him?" Sky rolled his eyes.

"I can't." Dru looked his friend in the eye.

"Okay, what's up with you?" he queried, "I've known you long enough to know something's troubling you." A serious look crossed Sky's face.

"I can't sleep. I ran a check on that Zantor you were chasing," he explained, "There are records of him being arrested and serving time in the Nebula province." Dru was quick to respond.

"Did you ever think he might have escaped?" he questioned. The Blue Ranger knew his friend well.

"I checked it out; he's still there," he countered, "Something's not right; what's going on, Dru?" The tangarian admitted defeat.

"I knew there was no getting my arrival past you. You are still the best," he remarked, "Think about it, Sky; I'm S.P.D. I'm on a top secret mission." Dru checked his surroundings. "I've said too much already; goodnight, old friend." With that, the young man entered his room, letting the door close behind him. Sky headed back to his own quarters in bewilderment.

Returning to his room for a few, short hours of sleep, Austin donned a pajama shirt and slipped into bed with his love. Glancing down at the colorful padding between his legs, he remembered Conner. What he wouldn't give for the two of them to once again be able to work together on a regular basis. For now, he let out a dejected sigh before closing his eyes and falling asleep.

* * *

Suddenly, he stood atop the observation deck of a tall structure, joined by none other than Simon and Conner himself. They all wore vests similar to those of the Wild Force Rangers, colored yellow, blue and red respectively. On the chest, in place of a Wild Force patch, was one bearing a strange logo indicating membership in some sort of cooperative Power Rangers organization. The whole thing was like a movie, as Austin could do nothing but watch the events unfold.

As the three Rangers conversed, an evil monster suddenly appeared on the streets not far below. Immediately, the Rangers reached for their morphers and prepared to face the menace. What surprised Austin, however, was what they turned into.

"Dino Thunder, power up, ha!" Conner returned to his old form.

"Wild Access!" Austin continued, surprising himself by morphing into the Yellow Wild Force Ranger. Had said Ranger's counterpart in the Japanese Super Sentai not been male, he would have been extremely embarrassed.

"Zeo Ranger 3, Blue!" Simon finished, surprisingly becoming the Blue Zeo Ranger. The three Rangers teamed up and began fighting the new monster, but at that point the dream faded. Naturally, Austin was left with many questions, but not a single answer. Perhaps, he hoped, the future would shed a light on this strange, vision-like dream.

* * *

The next morning, B Squad met up for breakfast as usual, and surprisingly Dru was nowhere in sight. Austin tried to apologize to Sky for his actions the night before, but the Blue Ranger was having none of it. The tension-filled meal continued until an announcement from Kat brought it to an abrupt end.

"Security breach! Intruder in the engine room!" she exclaimed. Cadets ran for the exits in a mad panic, while the Rangers morphed and headed to confront the trespasser. The culprit turned out to be a blue, spiked, muscular monster. Austin led the Rangers into battle, but surprisingly they wound up on the losing side of the affair. Despite their best efforts, the menace escaped to wreak havoc elsewhere. Before they could give chase, B Squad was alerted to Tommy and Cruger's return.

Rushing to meet the two returning heads of S.P.D, the Rangers lined up alongside a gathering of personnel and saluted. Tommy and Cruger walked past and lead B Squad up a trio of escalators towards Ops. Cruger immediately began questioning the team.

"A security breach; how is this possible?" he demanded. Several potential causes were thrown out before Sky finally spoke up.

"It's my fault, sir," he admitted, "I let Cadet Dru Harrington into the base. I thought I knew him… not anymore." Cruger was not happy.

"Lieutenant Tate, this is a very serious violation. We'll deal with this later," he responded, stepping off the escalator, "Lucky for you, there's no apparent harm done." No sooner had the words left Cruger's mouth than a massive energy blast struck him full-on in the chest. Cruger flew backward onto the ground, Syd and Z dropping to a knee to check on him. Tommy entered a defensive position, the other Rangers following suit as they searched for the gunman.

The same monster from the engine room was spotted just as it turned to escape, and immediately Sky gave chase. While the others opted to get Cruger to sick bay, the Blue Ranger stopped and faced-off with the would-be assassin. However, the monster still had a surprise up its sleeve.

"I'd be careful with your next move," Sky warned, holding the villain at gunpoint, "It may be your last." Much to the Blue Ranger's surprise, the monster known as Giganus shrank down into the form of his best friend, Dru. "Dru? What was that?" Sky questioned.

"My true tangarian body. Beautiful, isn't it?" Dru answered, "Even best friends have secrets." Sky was not amused.

"Why Cruger?" he demanded. The two began to circle each other as if preparing to fight.

"Simple, the money," Dru explained, "Grow up, Sky! You think being a Ranger is everything." The S.P.D Lieutenant cut his friend off.

"We both did!" he reminded his former friend. This much was not denied.

"I was young and naive," Dru retorted, "Until I met Broodwing." Sky gasped.

"Broodwing…" The Blue Ranger remembered Cruger's briefing on the villain.

"He showed me the light," Dru continued, "All I have to do is take a few orders, just like the academy." Sky was furious that someone he considered a friend would sink so low.

"Dru, you're talking crazy" he countered, trying to appeal to his old friend, "We can get help-!" The tangarian cut him off.

"I don't need help! I don't need you," Dru insisted, "I don't need anyone, anymore!" He tried to walk out.

"Dru, stop! I have to take you in!" Sky insisted. The young man kept walking. "Dru, you're under S.P.D arrest!" Dru stopped, laughing.

"You are such a fool!" He whipped around, blaster now in hand, and fired a single shot that sent Sky spiraling to the ground. His tangarian coil was broken by the blast, and his own weapon had clattered to the floor. Kicking the S.P.D-issued firearm aside, Dru knelt beside his ex-friend.

"I'll spare you this time, but next time… only one of us will walk away."

* * *

While Sky took on the monster, the other four Rangers brought Cruger to sick bay where Kat had taken all the necessary steps to ensure his survival. B Squad gathered around the sirian, hoping he would wake up soon and be okay.

"Is he gonna make it?" Z asked, worried. Kat shrugged.

"If he were human, he'd already be gone," she answered, "This old dog is tough; there's no telling." Just then, Cruger's eyes slid open.

"Who are you calling an old dog?" he questioned. Kat and the Rangers quietly celebrated the Commander having pulled through. As he began to recover, however, Austin was forced to plan the arrest of Dru AKA Giganus. Bridge pinpointed the tangarian's location, but was interrupted by Sky before he could say a word.

"I know exactly where he is," Sky remarked, "Austin, I need to talk to you. Alone." Bridge, Z and Syd left the room. "Dru is my friend; I brought him here," Sky insisted, "Let me bring him in." Austin looked his second-in-command dead in the eye.

"You know I can't do that," he responded. Sky's gaze never wavered. "...but, I suppose by the time I get everyone together, Syd does her nails, etc. etc… you may have a ten minute head start on us. Perfectly within academy regulations." Sky gave a nod of appreciation.

"Thanks."

* * *

Sky found his friend's hiding spot at some kind of club or screening building. Inside, tables and chairs surrounded an open area with a spot on the wall for the viewing of a projected video. Sky stopped in this area, looking around for his friend.

"Dru, come out!" he yelled, "I know you're in here!" Suddenly, the projector came to life, blinding Sky with its white light shining through blank film. Dru stepped out of the shadows, stopping in front of the projector.

"Ever the Ranger…" he taunted. Sky ignored the remark.

"My friends will be here in a few minutes," he responded, "Turn yourself in, let me help you." Dru was not swayed.

"Perhaps I shouldn't have been so lenient with you," he queried, "You really think you can beat me?" The tangarian changed to his alien form, so Sky morphed and drew his Deltamax Striker. "When the projector runs out of film, we do this."

"If that's how it has to be," Sky agreed. Roughly five seconds later, the reel ended and the two friends-turned-enemies fired at each other. Much to his surprise, Dru found himself collapsing in defeat.

"Impossible!" Dru declared, "How could you beat me?" Sky smirked inside his helmet.

"You don't make the same mistake twice. I learned that a few years ago from a good Cadet," he explained, "You might remember him; he was you. I'm a Power Ranger first, always." Dru was not happy.

"You're a fool! All you have is pride! What good is that when you have no money? No power?" he responded, "You have nothing! But I have more, so much more!" Dru activated some kind of capsule, which enlarged him to a megazord-sized Giganus. Just then, the other four Rangers ran up to their teammate.

"Hope we're not too late!" Austin remarked. Sky shook his head.

"Nope, just in time," he replied, pulling out his morpher, "Delta Runners!" Hayley, taking over while Kat helped Cruger, sent the zords into battle as Tommy watched from Ops. The Rangers immediately formed the Megazord, but Giganus quickly gained the upper hand. Striking back, the Rangers blocked a kick and sent the villain tumbling to the ground.

"I got him!" Sky remarked, activating the Megazord's blaster. Giganus was defeated by the powerful blast, reducing in size and returning to human form. Powering down, Sky led the other Rangers to his defeated ex-pal. "Old friend, you're under arrest."

* * *

With Dru in custody and Tommy able to oversee the academy, things were getting back to normal. Cruger was feeling well enough to discipline Sky himself, leaving the Blue Ranger in front of Delta Base with some soap and a toothbrush. Austin decided to pay him a visit.

"So, you have to do the entire entrance?" he asked. Sky nodded.

"Yeah, and all the other cement areas too," he answered, "Seems Commander Cruger things that I'll remember that academy regulations are meant for everyone, even self-righteous, pig-headed, ego-driven Rangers like myself." Austin winced.

"He said that?" the boy questioned, shocked. Sky nodded.

"He wasn't so nice," the Blue Ranger confirmed.

"Ouch," Austin remarked. He took a seat next to his teammate. "Hey, I thought you might want this," he added, handing over Sky's repaired tangarian coil.

"Thanks," Sky replied, accepting it, "I guess a bracelet alone doesn't make a friendship." Austin shook his head.

"No, it doesn't." he agreed, "You know, this whole thing between us reminds me of what Conner and I use to be like." Sky raised an eyebrow as he continued to clean.

"You two weren't always pals?" he questioned. Austin had to restrain laughter.

"Us Dino Rangers were just as dysfunctional when we first started," he recalled, "I was always trying to one-up Conner." He paused for a moment, his smile fading. "It took longer than necessary for us to get along, or some things may have been avoided…"

"I'm sorry to hear that," Sky remarked, frowning. Austin looked over at the Ranger with whom he'd had so much conflict. Perhaps now was a chance to try again; to do right instead of wrong.

"Hey, I know we've gotten off to a bad start," he spoke. Sky looked up from his work as Austin extended a hand. "Let's be friends, not enemies." Sky smiled, shaking the small limb.

"Friends it is."


	9. Christmas Blues

09 Christmas Blues

* * *

DISCLAIMER – I do NOT own Power Rangers, S.P.D, or any character other than Austin.

* * *

(S.P.D theme plays)

The afternoon of December 24th brought with it a surprising hubbub in and around delta base. Preparations were being made for a holiday party that evening, meant to celebrate both Christmas and Bridge's religious holiday of Hanukkah. Everyone managed to get along well despite their differences, setting up an extravagant event. However, they were reminded by the siren that evil does not take a holiday.

"S.P.D Emergency!" The B Squad cadets morphed and sprung into action, engaging a monster nimbler than most. Combined with icy conditions, this made for a battle of caution and incredible intensity. The Rangers avoided slip ups until the end, as Austin combined his delta blasters before slipping on a patch of ice when firing. He landed hard on his back, while his shot flew skyward.

The monster laughed as the Red Ranger writhed in pain, but was silenced by a second-story balcony crushing him. The other Rangers finished the job using the canine cannon, at which point the monster grew as usual. With Austin still down, Simon was quick to take control of the situation.

"Sky, can you get him back to base?" he questioned, "Noah and I can handle your runners." The Blue Ranger nodded, powering down before helping Austin to his feet. The two headed back while the other Rangers summoned the delta runners, forming the megazord. As the two giants faced off, Tommy met Sky and Austin in front of delta base, relieving the former and taking his son to sickbay.

In the meantime, the monster was defeated again, so B Squad returned to base and prepared for the party. Donning casual clothing, the cadets of S.P.D Earth gathered in the cafe for the holiday celebration. However, over an hour passed with no sign of Tommy or his son returning. Hayley and Noah grew worried, especially the younger Ziktor. Sky kneeled by the boy's side, surprising him with a look of sympathy.

"I know you're worried about your brother," he remarked, "You and I both know he's strong, and I'm sure he'll pull through. If it helps, though, you can always pray about it." For a moment, Noah thought Sky was mocking his dedication to religion.

"You actually pray?" he questioned. Sky let out a sigh.

"Yes," he answered, bowing his head. Noah went silent, following his teammate's lead. Suddenly, Bridge intervened, asking what was going on. Ten seconds later, he, Noah, Sky, and Simon stood in a circle, holding hands. Bridge led them in prayer, as they asked the Lord to be with Austin during his treatment and recovery. They had just finished when the voice of Tommy Oliver was heard from the cafe entrance.

"Sorry we're late," he apologized. The four Rangers smiled at the sight of Austin resting wearily in his father's arms, clad in training pants, tube socks, and a red, oversized, Christmas sweater. Despite being drowsy from anesthetic and exposed in front of his friends, he managed a weak smile. As Cruger, Hayley and B Squad gathered around, Kat walked up behind the father and son.

"How is he?" Cruger questioned. Kat spoke up immediately.

"I used a procedure pioneered on my home planet," she explained, "Now, his spine is straight as an arrow and his nerves are working like they should... save for a rather persistent one." She ruffled Austin's coarse, dirty blonde hair. "Your recovery will be short, but unfortunately you'll still need those training pants." The boy gave a nod of acceptance as Cruger spoke up.

"Well done, Dr. Manx," he responded, "Now, let's try and have some fun, shall we?" With a collective cheer, the Rangers returned to their prior activities at the party. B-Squad gathered around the drowsy Red Ranger as he took a seat near the buffet table. Sky was quick to speak, as expected.

"So... how long has _that_ been a problem?" he questioned. Noah glared at him, but Austin waved the boy off.

"Since the week we first met," he answered. Sky gave a half nod before Syd pinched Austin's cheek.

"I think he's adorable," she remarked, smiling. Z rolled her eyes.

"What are you, his grandma?" she questioned. Syd glared at her as Austin flushed almost crimson.

"Okay, let's change topics," Sky cut in surprisingly, "Bridge, how's Hanukkah?" So began a calm, holiday conversation that continued through dinner. Austin was the most comfortable he'd been since joining S.P.D; relieved that his secret was out. At the end of the party, everyone exchanged gifts with one another.

After pictures in front of the tree and/or menorah, the partygoers began heading off to bed. As he, Simon and Noah started to leave, Austin came face to face with his parents. The others headed upstairs as he was taken aside.

"So, how'd the party go?" Hayley asked, "Anyone laugh at you?" Austin shook his head, smiling.

"No; things went great, Mom," he answered. Tommy ruffled his son's hair.

"I'm glad your friends support you," he remarked, "We'll see you in the morning; just remember: Noah still believes." Austin nodded, understanding the reference to Santa Claus. He shared a hug with his parents before turning to head upstairs.

"Merry Christmas!"


	10. Red Hot

10 Red Hot

* * *

DISCLAIMER – I do NOT own Power Rangers, S.P.D, or any character other than Austin.

* * *

(S.P.D theme plays)

If Austin Oliver had to pick one word to sum up his entire morning, it would be frustration. Ever since waking, he'd dealt with so many petty annoyances that he was nearing his boiling point. It occurred to him that he might be emotionally compromised, but his pride got in the way of sensibility. Thus, when the alarm went off to signal an attack, he did not hesitate to morph.

The first incident of 2013 featured a monster no bigger than Cruger himself, with the appearance of a strange, reptile-shaman combination. His name was Sinuku, and he had broken into a laboratory and stolen a controller from an old colleague of his. The scientist explained that it would activate an anti-zord weapon that the villain had created himself and likely already acquired.

The Rangers headed Sinuku off before he could escape the premises, and a battle ensued. As usual, krybots were called in to back up the criminal, and the Rangers had their hands full once more. As the robots' numbers thinned, Sinuku knew he was running out of time and made a desperate, last-ditch move to try and secure an escape. Avoiding several attacks, he snatched up the Omega Ranger, Noah, and used him as a human shield as he backed away from the battlefield.

The krybots were eliminated within ten seconds of the capture, leaving Sinuku alone against six Rangers. Holding Noah in clear view, he began walking slowly backwards.

"Easy now, you wouldn't want your friend to get hurt, would ya?" he threatened. Austin drew his Delta Blasters, but was hesitant to fire because Noah was in the way. Sky drew his Deltamax Striker, aiming at the retreating criminal.

"Hold your fi..." Austin started. Sky ignored him, pausing for only a moment before firing at the alien. Sinuku fell to the ground, the blast striking him in the skull. Noah landed a few feet away, clutching his shoulder with such a grip you'd think his arm was going to fall off. "SKY!" The Blue Ranger nearly jumped in shock. Austin grabbed his second in command by the neck and pinned him against a concrete pillar. "I said hold your fire, damnit!"

"Get your hands off me!" Sky barked, trying to escape. Austin's older form, it seemed, was too much for him. The Red Ranger had snapped; his pent up anger erupting like a volcano.

"You just endangered my brother's life!" the 19 year-old roared, "When are you going to learn to follow orders?" Thankfully, it was at this moment that Cruger himself arrived on scene.

"Lieutenant Oliver, stand down!"

* * *

The news had shaken the S.P.D Academy to its very core. For the first time in history, the Red Ranger had been stripped of his rank. Sky Tate had been given Austin's old morpher, but was reluctant to use it. While he usually adhered to regulations, and S.P.D did have a strict policy in regards to violence against officers, this felt wrong. Sighing, he headed out front on his way to grab a Slurpee from the 7-Eleven across the street from the base.

"Hey, Sky!" The S.P.D Lieutenant stopped short, hearing an all too familiar voice. He turned to see Austin, dressed in blue, walking over from where Simon and Noah were loading up the trunk of his Mustang. "I'm sorry for… exploding at you," he apologized, "It was wrong of me. That being said, it's been an honor fighting alongside you." Sky ruffled the boy's hair.

"Don't forget fighting _with_ me," he added, smiling. Quickly, however, his smirk faded. "You will be missed." The two shared a hug before Austin turned back towards his car. For a moment, however, he stopped.

"We'll still be around for a few more hours, if you need anything," he added. Sky nodded and turned back towards Delta Base. His guilt proved there was something else he needed to do.

* * *

Cruger had not heard a word from B Squad since the last mission, but assumed Sky would have no problems taking over. He also assumed the team would spring into action when the alarm blared that afternoon. Alas, it seemed that was not the case. No, as a giant robot terrorized Newtech, it seemed B Squad was loafing around.

"Sir, unidentified zord in the city!" Kat announced suddenly. Cruger rolled his eyes.

"I know, Dr. Ma-!" He was cut off.

"No, Doggie; it's not the monster!" Kat persisted, "Look!" The sirian was surprised to see a giant, blue Stegosaurus fighting Broodwing's latest mech. Simultaneously, he noticed Tommy's absence and the giant Dragonzord rising from the sea. Cruger shook his head, burying his face in his palm. This whole situation was turning into a bigger storm with every passing second.

"Sir, the press is asking why B Squad has not responded to the giant robot." Sky Tate stood in the doorway to the control center, wearing his blue uniform of all things. Commander Cruger stared at the pale human, wondering just what had come over the former goody-two-shoes cadet.

"Care to enlighten me? I'm not sure myself," the sirian responded. The Blue Ranger crossed his arms.

"I disagree with your decision to discharge Austin Oliver," he stated plainly, "As such, I have chosen to follow Noah and Simon in resignation." Cruger was utterly shocked.

"You can't be serious!" he sputtered, "You're leaving me with only three Rangers!" Sky's gaze did not waver.

"Completely, sir," he confirmed, "Unless you reinstate Austin." Cruger sighed and paused for a moment in thought.

"...I suppose I have no choice," he conceded, "Since you won't be resigning, I order you to give him the news." Sky nodded and headed on his way.

* * *

Dozens of questions ran through Austin's head as he lay atop his and Simon's bed that night, but one was prevalent over all others. Why had Sky of all people stood up to Cruger in order to get his job back? Last he'd checked, the Blue Ranger was still working on his jealousy problem, and followed regulations to the letter. Cruger had taken action as required by S.P.D policy, giving no reason he could fathom to prompt Sky's actions.

Austin's train of thought was broken by the sound of doors sliding open as Simon returned from his nightly shower. Almost immediately his gaze fell on the Red Ranger, who now sat cross-legged on their bed. Clad in a red t-shirt and a diaper, he was already prepared for bed. However, the look on his face troubled his munkan love.

"I know what you're thinking about," Simon remarked, "You should go talk to him." Austin let out a dejected sigh.

"I suppose you're right," he admitted, hopping off the bed, 'I shouldn't be long…"

* * *

Sky rubbed his temples in annoyance at the end of a conversation with his roommate, Bridge Carson. The Green Ranger could be quite difficult to be around at times, due to his love of detail and technology. Finally, though, it seemed he would get some long-awaited rest as the talkative genius had gone quiet. Clad in a navy tank top and black sweats, Sky tried to get some sleep.

"Password override accepted." The door connecting the shared room and the hallway could only have been unlocked by a handful of higher-ranking officers. Expecting Cruger, or perhaps Dr. Manx, the two Rangers were surprised to see the short, red-clad blonde in the doorway.

"...Austin? What are you doing here?" Bridge asked. Austin hesitantly stepped inside, which wasn't like him.

"I… want to speak with Sky," he explained. The Blue Ranger raised an eyebrow; the sliding door closing once more.

"About what?" he questioned. Austin paused for only a second or two, though the gap seemed longer.

"What you did today…" he spoke, "I'm not even sure where to start, but… thank you." Bridge was surprised to see the usually serious Blue Ranger crack a smile and hoist Austin onto his lap, ruffling the boy's hair.

"You're welcome," he replied. He paused for a moment. "I knew you were frustrated before we left base," he revealed, "Next time, say something. We can help."

"There are seven of us, you know," Bridge added, "It's okay if you need a break." Austin let out a sigh before eyeing the Blue Ranger.

"It seems even I have something to work on," he revealed, "Trust." Sky put a hand on the boy's shoulder and smiled, comforting him.

"It's like you and your friend Conner," he pointed out, "We'll work it out in time." Austin could not help but smile.

"You're right, Sky," he admitted, "For once." Bridge couldn't help but laugh; his roommate strangely silent.

"Hey, maybe you're rubbing off on me," he remarked. Austin pulled the Blue Ranger into a hug.

"Good," he responded, "See you in the morning." Sky gave his friend a squeeze before sending him on his way. Finally, they were starting to get along.


	11. Shadow, Part 1

11 Shadow, Part 1

* * *

DISCLAIMER – I do NOT own Power Rangers, S.P.D, or any character other than Austin.

* * *

(S.P.D theme plays)

It was getting late at S.P.D headquarters, and it seemed the day would not end quietly. Noah Ziktor, the Omega Ranger, grumbled angrily to no one in particular.

"I can't believe the nerve of that guy... " he muttered, "Nearly blasted my arm off twice now." His older brother, Austin, frowned. Already prepared for bed, he wore only his red, S.P.D tee and his new, round-the-clock padding: a white diaper with red tapes and sides and a Power Rangers design. All he wanted to do was snuggle up in comfort; to savor the feeling of his old diapers with the cool look of his training pants. Noah, however, made that impossible.

"You do realize Sky saved you in the process," he pointed out. Noah was not swayed.

"Maybe so, but did he apologize for wounding me? No!" he countered, "Asshole just wants me dead as vengeance for me joining the Rangers." Austin's expression sharpened into a glare.

"He does not! He took the shot because you were probably going to be kidnapped!" he argued. Noah remained stubborn.

"Well, he shouldn't have. Seems against regulations to take a shot when a teammate's in danger," he retorted, "I don't care about his reasoning, anyway. He's a prick." Austin was shocked by his little brother's foul language.

"Noah Thomas Ziktor, watch your language!" he barked, "You think words like that are going to patch up the relationship between you two?" Noah countered easily.

"It's like my shoulder: it won't get patched up if he keeps shooting it," he growled, "Besides, I bet he just wants me out of the picture." For a moment, Austin faltered.

"You don't know that..." he spoke quietly. Noah gladly took the upper hand.

"Then why does he only break regulation when I'm involved?" he questioned, "I bet my badge he wouldn't have taken that shot if it were you, Z, Bridge, or anyone else but me." That sent Austin over the edge. Sky had risked his own badge to get Austin back his. It was because of Sky that Noah, too, still had a badge to wager.

"That's enough, Noah!" he barked, "One more word and I will personally suspend you!" Noah arrogantly continued.

"Jeez. And I thought I had freedom of speech in America," he muttered. Austin eyed him crossly.

"That doesn't mean freedom to slander your teammates," he lectured. Noah rolled his eyes.

"He hasn't exactly earned my respect," he asserted. Finally, Austin had had enough.

"Maybe you haven't earned mine, either," he growled. Immediately, the Red Ranger left the room. Noah, still fueled by his anger, made a decision he would come to regret.

"Fine! I don't need you anyway! I can make it on my own!" he insisted. The words went unheard as he stormed out of Delta Base, accidentally leaving his morpher on his bed. Later, after a late night snack to help calm his nerves, Austin returned to the bedroom only to find it empty. Noticing his little brother's morpher, he realized the true seriousness of the situation. Grabbing the white and blue device and his uniform jacket, he hurried to Ops.

* * *

Commander Anubis Cruger was doing some late night paperwork when Hayley entered Ops with Tommy hot on her heels. Austin, sans pants, rushed in just moments after them; the small group gathering by the main computer.

"Someone want to tell me what's going on?" the sirian asked. Tommy looked away from the monitors for a moment.

"Noah's missing." This was all Cruger needed to hear; the rest of B Squad summoned at once. The five remaining Rangers gathered around as Hayley used cameras throughout the city to locate Noah. Worried sick, Austin sat in Sky's lap as he awaited any info on Noah's location. Trying to comfort the boy, Sky ruffled his hair.

"He'll show up." the Blue Ranger promised, "Probably still holding a grudge against me…" Austin sighed.

"He's a bit stubborn like that…" he admitted. Suddenly, Hayley made a breakthrough.

"Got him! He's down by an abandoned warehouse and… oh no…" she remarked. Austin's eyes widened.

"What is it, mom?" he asked. Hayley frowned.

"He's surrounded by krybots," she announced, "And he's losing." Sky was quick to respond.

"Let's go save him!" he exclaimed. Immediately, everyone but Cruger hurried out of the room and towards the garage. Austin, however, dropped back for a moment with Sky. The short, 19 year-old held out Noah's morpher.

"We're gonna rescue Noah, but he has to take his morpher from you, respectfully, if he wants to remain a Ranger," he explained. Sky nodded in acceptance.

"Alright, but I doubt it'll be easy," he replied. Austin sighed heavily; it certainly would not.

* * *

At the warehouse, Noah had managed to find a hiding spot that concealed him from the mob of krybots. By now his anger had faded, and the situation left him on the verge of tears. He now regretted all he had said about Sky, and greatly missed his family.

"Damnit, what was I thinking? I can't take these guys," he muttered, "I need my team. I need my brother…" As he began to doubt his own skill as a Ranger, and his usefulness to the team, Sky hurried into the room.

"You alright, Noah?" he asked, looking the boy over. Noah nodded.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine," he replied, "Look, Sky, I'm sorry for giving you crap; you really don't deserve that. Least of all from a newbie like me." Sky was quick to respond.

"It's okay, I used to be just as boneheaded; ask your brother," he admitted, "We cool now?" He held out Noah's morpher, which was quickly accepted.

"We're cool," Noah confirmed, "Now, are we gonna sit here, or are we gonna go help our team?" Sky grinned.

"We're going to help, and I have a plan…"

* * *

Outside the warehouse, the other Rangers were having a tough time holding off the krybots, because the sole blue-head kept interrupting their attacks with laser blasts. After one instance in which Austin's aim was thrown off by a blast, sparing a krybot, the Red Ranger clenched his hands into fists.

"Damnit! Not again!" he roared. Suddenly, the Omega Ranger slid in out of nowhere, clearly using his morpher's Muscle Mode to increase his strength. Said maneuver, which lasted all of a second, kicked the blue-head's feet out from below it.

"NOW!" Noah cried. Sky, also morphed, jumped in with perfect timing and curb stomped the bluehead's namesake head, cracking it open. He then blasted it the rest of the way apart with his Deltamax Striker.

"Target down," the Blue Ranger stated firmly. Noah stood up and high fived him.

"Nice job, Sky," he remarked. Sky returned the gesture.

"Thanks, you too," he replied. Austin's jaw dropped in shock.

"That's right, bro. I've made my peace with Sky," Noah explained, "As hard to believe as it is, it's true." The Blue Ranger cut in.

"Kid, this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship," he spoke, "Maybe later, I'll show ya how to play Mortal Kombat. Simon smiled knowingly.

"Careful, Sky; Noah's actually a pro," he warned. Noah smirked.

"Heck yeah, I am!" he bragged, "I've had the high score on the MKII machine at the Reefside Arcade for over a year!" Sky backtracked immediately.

"Maybe something else, then," he responded, "I know a Scorpion user when I hear one." Austin chimed in with an idea.

"Perhaps some light ball, then," he suggested, blushing "Tomorrow, though; we all need some rest, and... I need a change." Noah wasn't so sure.

"Light ball? I dunno... I'm not really a sport player," he admitted. Austin put a hand on his brother's shoulder.

"Trust me, Noah; if you can be a Ranger, you can play light ball," he encouraged him, "It's not hard." Sky nodded in agreement.

"Especially since I'll be on your side," he added.

"Well… alright, then," Noah conceded, "But right now, I need some eats. Like a nice double cheeseburger..." Hayley walked up with a smile.

"I can handle both of those back at base," she promised. The redhead loaded her boys into the back seat of the Mustang, while the others returned to their vehicles. Soon, the Rangers were headed back to Delta Base for some much needed rest.

* * *

About a week later, Cruger woke with a start after the most horrid dream. This was a repeat occurrence that always shook him to his very core. Vivid scenes of the invasion that claimed and destroyed his homeworld played one after the other in his mind. Turning around in his chair, he gazed down at the sword lying unused within a special cut-out in the wall. He had not used the blade since that terrible day, but it continued to haunt him. Suddenly, Kat was by his side.

"You had the dream again," she surmised, placing a hand on his shoulder. Cruger sighed and nodded.

"Yes."

* * *

The next day, Austin and Noah teamed up to- with some difficulty- take down an orange-head krybot. Meanwhile, Simon and Sky led the rest of B Squad against another of Mora's giant monsters. Easily defeated, the gargantuan beast actually began to cry as it was locked into the shrink cuffs. Later, having gathered in the Ops center for mission debriefing, the squad had a nice laugh about its rather humorous display.

"Are you laughing at me?" Commander Cruger had just entered the room; Kat being the only other S.P.D official around. "Might I remind you that this is an official S.P.D control room, and I expect you to act accordingly!" Cruger roared. Sky tried to defend his team's actions.

"Sir, we mean no disrespect-!" he tried. Cruger was having none of it.

"If you cannot comply with my request, then I suggest you leave now," he barked. Not willing to deal with an irate Commander, B Squad hesitantly filed out Ops. They all made their way to a nearby common room, where even Sky agreed that Cruger was out of line. Before they could say more, however, Kat stepped in.

"Sorry you guys had to endure that," she remarked, "Cruger's been having nightmares. You see, the Troobian empire conquered his home planet, and… he lost everything. It doesn't excuse his actions, but I thought you should know."

* * *

Later on, the Rangers were sent to check the coordinates of some strange energy readings. As it turned out, they were coming from a disgusting restaurant owned by Piggy, who had won the lottery and ten million dollars. After inadvertently scaring off all the patrons, the seven Rangers confronted their unusual acquaintance. He was barely able to greet them, however, before a monster with a rather disturbing appearance rose from some garbage in a corner.

"Looks like Piggy's place has a little rat infestation," Sky remarked. Syd was quick to chime in.

"I hate rats!" she cried. The monster was not amused.

"I am Benaag, Prime General of the Troobian force!" he declared. Austin did not hesitate to respond.

"Let's suit up!" he ordered. Benaag raised a hand.

"Don't bother, just give this to Commander Cruger," he countered, tossing the Red Ranger a strange metallic ball. With that, he disappeared in a manner much like Mesogog's minions back in Reefside. Left without much other option, Austin led B Squad back to Delta Base.

* * *

Benaag's metallic ball, it turned out, was a single-use, holographic communication device. Set in the middle of the Ops Center's central consoles, it displayed the image of Benaag and his sadistic smile. Immediately, he addressed Cruger.

"I hope you enjoyed your last sunrise, Doggie Cruger!" he proclaimed, "I have navigated three galaxies to find you. We meet this afternoon for your final battle!" Cruger was not happy, nor accepting of Benaag's challenge.

"You have travelled in vain," he countered, "I do not fight anymore." Benaag merely laughed, not at all fazed by Cruger's denial.

"Oh, I will see to it that you do battle, I promise you that!" he retorted. The device shut off, ending the conversation. The Rangers were stunned, and quite curious. Simon spoke for the group as a whole.

"Commander, how do you know him?" he asked, "It was pretty clear that you two have met before." Cruger grew angry and began to growl, but Kat stepped in to mediate.

"They have a right to know," she spoke calmly. Cruger sighed, but reluctantly agreed. He explained that, before its conquering, Sirius had assembled the first S.P.D, and he was a member. Benaag had led the troops that attacked from behind, winning the battle. The last remaining Sirian, Anubis had sworn never to pick up his sword again.

Before more could be said, the alarm blared, and the Earth shook violently. Cruger made the same assumption as most of the Rangers.

"What is this, an Earthquake?" he questioned. Kat grasped a console for support as the short tremor subsided.

"No, energy tremors," she corrected. Cruger turned to B Squad.

"Rangers, suit up!" he barked. The seven Lieutenants morphed and headed for their zords. Meanwhile, Kat confronted her superior.

"They're up against an enemy they don't know, and you do," she remarked. Cruger was not amused.

"What is your point, Dr. Manx?" he questioned, annoyed. Kat looked him dead in the eye.

"You know Benaag, but you send a squad of heroic yet inexperienced kids up against him?" she pointed out, "You should be out there with them!" Cruger lashed out in anger.

"No!" He tried to calm himself. "It is not my place anymore." Kat persisted, trying to get through to him.

"Doggie, I know this brings up a lot of bad memories, but running from them won't-!" she started. Cruger cut her off.

"I am not running from them!"

"Then why didn't you tell the Rangers everything?" she questioned, "You withheld the most important part of your story." Cruger remained defiant.

"This is my business, not theirs!" Kat wasn't finished either.

"Well I think it is their business! You're a team, there should be no secrets!" Things fell calm for a moment before Kat extended a small, metal contained towards Cruger. "Here, I made you something." Cruger took the box and looked inside. After a second or two, he growled and shut it angrily.

"This is bordering on insubordination!" he spoke sternly, "I suggest you leave my sight while you can!" Kat refused to yield.

"You stubborn old dog!" she roared, "Resisting what you fear can only bring it into existence!"

"OUT!" Seizing the box, Kat stormed out and left Cruger feeling a conflicting mess of emotions.

* * *

Out in the city, the Rangers responded to a giant robot placing several, massive spikes in the ground at various landmarks. Each glowed upon their insertion, showing that they had been activated. The robot planted all six spikes and disappeared before the Rangers could stop it. Left without much other option, Sky started to use his zord to pull a spike out.

"Stop!" Cruger barked over comms, "Leave the spikes and return to base immediately!"

* * *

"Look, I could have pulled those spikes out of the ground," Sky argued. Cruger refused to take back his order.

"Yes, you could have, but you don't know what they are or what they might do," he pointed out. This time, at least, his decision was logical and out of caution. "We don't do anything until we find those things out. Kat! ...Kat? Where's Kat?" Just then, Boom rushed in.

"Sir, Kat's gone and she's not answering her communicator," he reported, "Something's not right." Before anyone else could say a word, R.I.C barked and shot off through the open doors of the Ops Center.

* * *

Walking in a rather empty part of the city, Kat was suddenly ambushed by a pair of hooded assailants. She fought them off with skill that would have surprised the Rangers, but was eventually overwhelmed and nearly captured. However, R.I.C appeared and took both of her captors out, revealing them to be Krybots. Then, however, Benaag appeared from the shadows; that same, evil grin plastered on his face.

"Here, doggie," he taunted. Kat could only watch, horrified, as R.I.C attacked the Troobian general.


End file.
